Administration of , 2012 / Jan. 17

Hochberg, Chairman, Export-Import Bank; Mr. Immelt referred to Paul S. Otellini, presi- and U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk. dent and chief executive officer, Intel Corp.

Remarks Following a Meeting With Abdullah II of January 17, 2012

President Obama. Good afternoon, every- we want to be as helpful as we can in encourag- body. It is a great pleasure for me to once again ing this ongoing reform process that’s taking welcome His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan, place. as well as his delegation. We also talked about a number of regional We have very few countries around the issues, including and Iran, but uppermost world that are better friends and better part- on our minds right now is the issue of . ners than the Jordanians. The fact that they are His Majesty was the first Arab leader to public- in such a difficult neighborhood makes the re- ly call on President Asad to step down in the lationship between our two countries that face of the terrible brutality we’ve been seeing much more important. inside of Syria. I want to thank him for his will- And so I want to publicly express my appre- ingness to stand up. As a consequence, Jordan ciation for His Majesty’s leadership not only in has been part of an overall effort forging a strong bilateral relationship, but also to encourage this sort of peaceful transition in- all the multilateral efforts that he is engaged in side of Syria that is needed. to encourage peace and prosperity during what Unfortunately, we’re continuing to see un- has been an extraordinary time. acceptable levels of violence inside that coun- The last time we met, the face of the region try, and so we will continue to consult very was very different. Since that time, you’ve seen closely with Jordan to create the kind of inter- new governments emerging in , in , national pressure and environment that en- transitions taking place and a new government courages the current Syrian regime to step in , transitions taking place in , aside so that a more democratic process of and now obviously great volatility in Syria. transition can take place inside of Syria. Throughout this period we consult closely with Finally, Jordan, just like the rest of the the Jordanians, and we value the advice and world, has been grappling with a very difficult the thoughtful leadership that His Majesty economic environment, and we are proud to provides. have been able to provide some timely assis- We spent a great deal of time discussing a tance in areas like food security this week. I number of key subjects. We talked about the think wheat from the will be ar- importance of us continuing to consult closely riving that will help to make sure that there’s together to encourage the Palestinians and the bread in Jordan. Israelis to come back to the table and negotiate But there’s more work to do. And so in a serious fashion a peaceful way forward. through a wide range of bilateral efforts, in- And the Jordanians have taken great leadership cluding the Millennium Challenge grant and on this issue, and we very much appreciate other mechanisms, what we’re trying to do is their direction on this issue. encourage entrepreneurship, market-based re- We discussed, as well, the extraordinary ef- forms, small business and medium-sized busi- forts that have been made by His Majesty, as nesses developing and prospering inside of Jor- well as the Prime Minister, in guiding political dan. And we pledge to continue to work in reform inside of Jordan. I think His Majesty strong partnership with His Majesty to make has been ahead of the curve in trying to re- sure that all the people of Jordan have the kind spond to the legitimate concerns and aspira- of opportunity that they deserve. tions, both politically and economically, of the So, generally speaking, our bilateral rela- Jordanian population. And so we have said that tionship could not be stronger. And I want to

47 Jan. 17 / Administration of Barack Obama, 2012 thank, once again, His Majesty for being not We’re very, very grateful to the economic only a leader in the region, but also being a support that you’re showing Jordan in this very great friend of the United States. difficult time. As we move into political re- Thank you. form, obviously the economy and the situation King Abdullah II. Mr. President, thank you that challenges the livelihood of Jordanians is very much. It’s obviously a great honor for me very, very important as we move forward. But and my delegation to be back here in Washing- we are very, very optimistic. We had the op- ton. We so much appreciate the historical sup- portunity to talk about the full impact with the port that we always get from our friends in the President this afternoon. United States to Jordan’s challenges. And So again, sir, wonderful to be back. We will again, our personal friendship, which is very, be in close consultation with you on all these very strong, has allowed us to look at the chal- issues. And thank you for your kind words and lenges that the Israelis and Palestinians face, as your wonderful support to our country. you just mentioned. President Obama. Good. Thank you very Although this is still in the very early stages, much, everybody. we have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can bring the Israelis and Palestinians NOTE: The President spoke at 3:07 p.m. in the out of the impasse that we’re facing. We’re in Oval Office at the . In his re- coordination on a regular basis with the Presi- marks, he referred to Prime Minister Awn dent, as well as with his administration. Shawkat al-Khasawnah of Jordan.

Remarks Honoring the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals January 17, 2012

The President. Thank you. It is wonderful to thousand players have gone through the be here. It is wonderful to be joined by my league. So this is a sport that has seen it all. wife. It is her birthday today. When we first But every once in a while, something hap- married, it was a little controversial that she pens that we have never seen before, some- was 20 years younger than me, but—[laugh- thing unique. And that’s why it is my pleasure ter]—now it seems to have worked out okay. to stand here with the greatest comeback team [Laughter] in the history of baseball. The First Lady. I’m 48. [Laughter] Last August, with just 31 games to play in The President. And I want to join her in con- the regular season, the Cardinals were 10½ gratulating the world champion St. Louis Car- games out of the playoff race. At one point, they had a less than 4-percent mathematical dinals. I won’t lie, I’m a little disappointed I chance of making the playoffs. In Las Vegas, had to leave my White Sox jacket in the closet they were 500-to-1 longshots to win the World for another year. [Laughter] But this is a spe- Series. And when Chris Carpenter pulled the cial team, both because of what they do for our team together for a meeting, his message was military and their families, but also what they simple: Let’s not embarrass ourselves. [Laugh- did on the field last season. And I know we’ve ter] But through skills and guts and, I think the got Mayor Slay from St. Louis and some Mem- team would agree, just a little bit of luck—just bers of Congress who agree with me. I see the a touch—this team made the playoffs. And delegation here; they’re beaming. [Laughter] even though they trailed in each of the series They are quite pleased. that followed, they somehow had the spirit and Now, when we talk about baseball, we’re the determination and the resolve to survive. talking about a sport, obviously, with a long his- Of course, the most memorable moment was tory. Over 200,000 games have been played game six of the World Series. I’ve got to say, since Major League Baseball began. Seventeen that has to be one of the best baseball games of

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