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Skriven 2006-11-28 23:31:16 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (0611286) for Tue, 2006 Nov 28
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President Bush Meets with President Vike-Freiberga of Latvia
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 28, 2006

President Bush Meets with President Vike-Freiberga of Latvia
Riga Castle
Riga, Latvia


˙˙˙˙˙ In Focus: Global Diplomacy

3:40 P.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT VIKE-FREIBERGA: Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been a great
pleasure to have the President of the United States here in Riga for the
second time in less than two years. And I expressed how delighted we are to
be receiving him and his delegation here on the occasion of the Riga 2006
summit.

The United States has been our strong supporter all those years when Latvia
was not free, has been our supporter after we regained our independence,
and I'm most grateful to the United States for the understanding and
support we got in our direction and our movement towards NATO. Now that we
are fully members, Latvians certainly sleep better at night knowing that
they are protected by an alliance that will spare them the sorts of
experiences they had in earlier years.

But of course I'm delighted to be welcoming the President of the United
States as the representative of what still remains as a shining example of
the free world, of the sort of success one can achieve in a country that
has been working at its democracy for a long time, that keeps perfecting
it. I would hope that Latvia, as well, has the same opportunities; that we
can go ahead, have our own choices, make our own mistakes, and do so with
the help and understanding and support of fellow nations who share the same
values as us.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Madam President, thanks for inviting me back to Riga. Our
experience was so good the first time that we couldn't wait to get back. I
want to congratulate you on hosting this very important NATO summit. You
and your government have done a spectacular job, and I want to thank the
people of Riga for accommodating all the world leaders who have come to
this important meeting.

I appreciate very much your strong belief that liberty has got the capacity
to transform the world for the good. I thank you and the Latvian people for
supporting young democracies in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

We spent time talking about our bilateral relations. Trade is good between
the United States and Latvia, and that's very positive. The President
brought up the visa waiver program. She is deeply concerned that the people
of Latvia aren't able to travel to the United States as freely as she would
like. And I fully understand your concerns, Madam President. And to this
end, I'll be sending to Congress a new proposal to make it easier for the
citizens of Latvia to come to the United States, and at the same time, for
us to share information to make sure that we're able to thwart any type of
terrorist activities in our country. And I'm confident we can work this
through.

And I want to thank you for working hard on this issue. Every time I've met
with you, you brought it up, because you deeply care about the people of
your country. I want to congratulate you on your strong leadership, and
again, thank you for your very warm hospitality.

END 3:42 P.M. (Local)

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