Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by President Jorge Sampaio Of

1248 May 30 / Administration of William J. Clinton, 2000 any drug; and a third of the world has actually humanity, helps us to fight hunger, to miti- been exposed to tuberculosis. These diseases gate natural disasters, to reverse the tide of can ruin economies and threaten the very global warming, to grow our economies with- survival of societies. out damaging the environment. This is pro- I was gratified to meet with some Por- foundly important and a very great challenge, tuguese scientists working on state-of-the-art indeed. malaria research, together with the U.S. Pub- I couldn't help thinking today that intel- lic Health Service, and to meet some of their ligence is equally distributed throughout the students who were learning about it. Other world, but not all the young people of the Portuguese and American teams are learning world have a chance to come together as the together, studying the bacteria that caused Portuguese young people I met today do, to TB, other new drug-resistant disease threats, study TB, to study malaria. Instead, many of and a recently discovered pathogen that can them are fighting for their lives because they strike down those already suffering from have it. AIDS. We have a solemn responsibility to take I enjoyed meeting with the high school the benefits of the information economy, of students who were using the Internet to the explosion in biomedical discoveries, and study infectious diseases and share informa- use them to give every young person in the tion with other students all across Europe. world the chance to live up to their God- This kind of research and learning benefits given potential and to create a safer, better, both our nations. It reaches across continents stronger, more prosperous world for us all. to benefit people who really need it, espe- That, in the end, is how these discoveries cially in this case, in Africa. should be measured, by whether we did our Our challenge now is also to support pre- part to spread them quickly to benefit every- vention programs, to accelerate the creation one. of affordable drugs and vaccines. We have Thank you very much. made a national commitment to do this in the United States. I've asked Congress for NOTE: The President spoke at 4:56 p.m. at the over $325 million to increase our inter- Pavilion of Knowledge Science Center. In his re- national efforts against AIDS. I've asked for marks, he referred to Prime Minister Antonio a billion-dollar tax credit and a global pur- Guterres and Minister of Science and Technology Jose Mariano Gago of Portugal; Alexandre chase fund to speed the development by our Quintanilha, professor, University of Porto, who pharmaceutical companies of vaccines for introduced the President; and Rosalia Vargas, di- AIDS, TB, and malaria. We have committed rector, Pavilion of Knowledge Science Center. A over $70 million to fight TB, over $100 mil- tape was not available for verification of the con- lion to fight malaria. tent of these remarks. And as the Prime Minister said, today we are announcing a new partnership with Por- Ä Â Â tugal and Sao Tome and Prõncipe to study Remarks at a State Dinner Hosted by that African country's unique malarial epi- President Jorge Sampaio of Portugal demic and to develop a strategy to end it. in Lisbon Tomorrow I am here also to meet with May 30, 2000 leaders of the European Union, and your Prime Minister is the President in this pe- Mr. President, Mrs. Sampaio, Mr. Prime riod. I hope we'll come out of that meeting Minister, members of the Government, with a common approach to the global health members of the diplomatic corps. I would crisis that will increase scientific research, in- like to thank you, Mr. President, the Govern- crease the availability of learning opportuni- ment, and the people of Portugal, for the ties for our young people, and most impor- welcome that I and my party have received. tantly, keep more people alive in the 21st I'd like to thank you for the meeting we had century. today. It has been a pleasure for me to spend We have got to make sure that today's rev- time with another President who likes to read olution in science and technology serves all detective novels, listen to good music, and Administration of William J. Clinton, 2000 / May 31 1249 play golf. We could have had a 2-day summit and to make the global economy work for on those three topics alone. [Laughter] My all your people. I admire that as well. staff suggested it so that they could go to Two years ago a Portuguese author was the beaches. awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. A Let me say that five centuries ago the vi- short time later, we in the United States had sion and courage of Portugal helped Europe the honor of hosting Jose Saramago as he to find its way across the Atlantic. You were received an honorary degree from the Uni- the first to set foot in South America, to sail versity of Massachusetts. Looking out at gen- down West Africa, to cross the Equator, to erations of Portuguese who had traveled to round the Cape of Good Hope, to reach America to enrich our culture and our coun- India by sea from the west, to trade with try, he said that they are a part of an China and Japan. It is little wonder then that unremitting human chain that has always Portuguese is now spoken by more than 200 been and will continue to be an example of million people in countries throughout the living history. That living history links not world. One of these nations, of course, is the only past and present, but the people of our United States. two countries, from Lisbon and Porto to New Two centuries ago Portugal was the very Bedford, Fall River, Providence, Newark, all first neutral state to recognize our independ- the places Portuguese-Americans have made ence. And as you noted yourself, Mr. Presi- their own. Today, we look ahead to a new century. dent, the United States has been strength- We celebrate our friendship and embrace ened by the contributions of Portuguese- common challenges. We hope that the values Americans, from John Philip Sousa, who we share will spread across the Earth and wrote the music we use to celebrate the bear fruit in more places for more people Fourth of July, to John Dos Passos, whose than ever before. We hope that we will al- voice helped to define America in the 20th ways stand together as friends in the defense century. Today, we are proud to stand with of those values and in their advance. you as partners, allies, and friends. I ask now that all of you join me in a toast Twenty-six years ago Portugal turned from to the President of Portugal and Mrs. dictatorship to democracy. Ten years ago Sampaio, to the people of this great nation, Eastern Europe followed your lead. Today, and to our long friendship. Eastern Europe is still learning from your example. When finally we build a Europe NOTE: The President spoke at 9:14 p.m. in the that is undivided, democratic, and at peace State Banquet Room at the Ajuda Palace. In his for the first time in history, there will be a remarks, he referred to President Sampaio's wife, great debt owed by all freedom-loving people Maria Jose Ritta; and Prime Minister Antonio to Portugal. Guterres of Portugal. Today, this nation that once brought the four corners of the world together is working The President's News Conference with its EU allies and America to bring the With European Union Leaders in world together to advance democracy and Lisbon human rights. Portugal has taken a leading May 31, 2000 role in NATO and the EU. In Kosovo, nearly half the sorties that led us to victory flew Prime Minister Antonio Guterres. La- out of Lajes Air Base in the Azores. In East dies and gentlemen, good afternoon. A few Timor, Portugal's leadership rallied the inter- words in English before making my state- national community. In Mozambique, our ment in Portuguese. two nations are working together to lead the First of all, let me say that this was not relief effort. From the Balkans to East Timor a business-as-usual summit. It was a strategic to Africa, our troops serve side by side to summit: Strategic in the way we discussed keep the peace and build a better future. the diplomatic and security problems of our Here in Portugal, Prime Minister Guterres hemisphere, the new common security and has charted new ways to solve old challenges defense policy of the European Union, its.

Load more