Remarks by President Bush and President Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines...

Remarks by President Bush and President Arroyo of the Republic of the Philippines in Photo Opportunity

WASHINGTON--(Business Wire)--
Oval Office

10:25 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: Madam President, it is a pleasure to welcome you
back to the Oval Office. We have just had a very constructive
dialogue. First, I want to tell you how proud I am to be the President
of a nation that -- in which there's a lot of Philippine-Americans.
They love America and they love their heritage. And I reminded the
President that I am reminded of the great talent of the -- of our
Philippine-Americans when I eat dinner at the White House. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Yes.

PRESIDENT BUSH: And the chef is a great person and a really good
cook, by the way, Madam President.

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: We talked about our friendship, our bilateral
relations, and we spent some time on foreign policy.

First, I expressed our deep condolences to those who suffered as a
result of the typhoon. And I know there's some families that are
hurting. Some are wondering whether or not their loved ones will, you
know, reappear. We, the American people, care about the human
suffering that's taking place, and we send our prayers.

Secondly, I informed the President -- Secretary Gates informed the
President, through me, that the United States will move the USS Ronald
Reagan, a large aircraft carrier, to help with the assistance, along
with other U.S. Navy assets. We're happy to do it. We want to help our
friends in a time of need.

We talked about, you know, food, and I assured the President we'll
continue to help. We helped with rice in the past. And, you know, I'm
proud of my country. We give a lot of food aid, and this is a time
where America needs to step up, and we will, Madam President.

We talked about our mutual desire to advance how important it is
to move forward the bilateral and multilateral trade agendas. I'm a --
I believe trade is beneficial to both our countries. I'm hopeful we
can get a Doha Round done, and we strategized together about how we
can move the process.

I congratulated the President on her strong stand on
counterterrorism -- more than strong stand -- effective stand on
counterterrorism, as well as laying out a vision for peace. The
President has been very strong in having a carrots-and-sticks approach
-- "sticks," of course, say we're not going to allow for people to
terrorize our citizens; the "carrot" approach is that there's peace
available.

We talked about Burma, the area, the region. The President has
been a very strong leader when it comes to the freedom agenda and
human dignity.

And so, all in all, we had a very constructive talk. I'm proud
you're here.

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thanks for coming.

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you, thank you. Mr. President, with your
permission, I'd like to address our countrymen in my own native
language. (Speaks in Tagalog.)

PRESIDENT BUSH: I couldn't have said it better myself. (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT ARROYO: Thank you.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, all.

END 10:30 A.M. EDT

White House Press Office
1-202-456-2580

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