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Exchange of Toasts between the President and Luis Echeverria, President of Mexico
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7336680
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Exchange of Toasts between the President and Luis Echeverria, President of Mexico
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
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1974-10-21
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1974
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Digitized from Box 4 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 21, 1974
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
(Tubac, Arizona)
EXCHANGE OF TOASTS
BETWEEN
THE PRESIDENT
AND
LUIS ECHEVERRIA, PRESIDENT OF MEXICO
TUBAC COUNTRY CLUB
4:20 P.M.
MST
THE PRESIDENT: Mr. President, distinguished
guests, friends:
I am very pleased to have the opportunity
to have our distinguished guest here in Tubac, Arizona,
and to reciprocate on this occasion for the warm welcome
that he and the people of Mexico gave to me and to the
American people during the day, which was an unbelievably
pleasant, warm, and just a wonderful opportunity to be
together.
I am most grateful to you, Mr. President,
for having suggested that we meet in Magdalena de Kino
for the meetings that we had during the day. Your sense
of history, your understanding of the great role that
Father Kino played in the history of this part of the
world, made it an ideal setting for the discussions that
we had on very important matters.
Mr. President, the Jesuit Priest whose statue
is in the United States Capitol and whose statue is
in the State capital of Sonora and the capital of
Arizona, lived and worked here almost three centuries
ago. His efforts gave the first great stimulant to progress
among the people of this part of the North American continent,
and we are all proud of his contribution to this flourishing
part of our Nation as well as yours.
Mr. President, with the horse, the cross, and
the plow, he explored this area of your country as well
as ours. He not only served his faith, Mr. President,
but he also introduced agriculture, livestock to the
inhabitants of this area, and all of these ingredients,
Mr. President, are vital to the progress of your country
as well as ours.
Father Kino lives in the memories of those in the
town that we visited this morning. On both sides of the
border we owe him a very great debt of gratitude. The
heritage of Father Kino is an inspiration for all of
us to continue the work that he started three centuries
ago.
MORE
(OVER)
Page 2
Mr. President, as I am sure you realize, I am a
great believer in personal dialogue. I believe that
the straight talk that you and I had today contributed
significantly to a better understanding, greater
cooperation and greater potentialities for your country
as well as ours.
Mr. President, we had straight talk today
with openness and candor, and as a result, it seems to
me, that the relationship between your country and
mine has increased very significantly.
Your great patriot, Benito Juarez, said over
100 years ago, and I quote, "Respect for the rights of
others is peace." And this relationship that has been
built between Mexico and the United States is built
on that foundation which is solid rock.
Mr. President, we have discussed a number of
very important issues and we have done it with open-
ness and candor and the spirit that we discussed these
matters, I think, will be the foundation upon which we
can continue the dialogue -- a dialogue that will
be beneficial to Mexico as well as to the United States,
to Latin America and to the world as a whole.
Mr. President, we are greatly honored to
have on the soil of the United States the President
of Mexico and his official party. We believe that the
relationship between us will grow from this beginning
under my Administration and during your time as President
and we will work together to build a better and better
world in this hemisphere as well as throughout the globe.
May I offer a toast to the President of
Mexico and to the people of the great country of Mexico
and to the growing and improved relationships between
our people, our country and you and myself.
PRESIDENT ECHEVERRIA: Mr. President of the
United States of America:
I believe, Mr. President, that among the many
important points of agreement that we have reached during
this very brief visit, but a very intensive one, we can
mention the enormous success of this visit.
The cordiality, the expressions of welcome
and affection with which we have been received in
Nogales and Magdalena de Kino, we all know would have
been the same whatever part of the country you would
have visited.
MORE
Page 3
It.is not only the fact of the co-existence
between Mexicans and North Americans and United States
citizens, what intensifies the bonds that bring our
two countries together.
It is not only the relationship that exists on the two
sides of the border, it is the fact that throughout
our history, the American history and the Mexican
history -- we have been able to bring up our problems
very openly; we have been able to foster and foment
our friendship.
When you and I, Mr. President, explored the
different possibilities of meeting along the border area,
we decided to meet in this vast region which was at
that time a desert and which Father Kino discovered and
civilized.
Father Kino's untiring work, Father Kino's
great foresight and vision and all his dedication are
an example that are to be followed in the work that needs
to be done in this very vast desert area in which we
are at present.
In researching the work that was done by
Father Kino, many students of the United States and many
students of history of Mexico participated, and, similarly,
to the way in which they joined forces and participated,
we can join forces in order to solve the problems of the
United States and of Mexico.
May I say out loud, Mr. President, that to deal
with you personally is very gratifying, that very
simply and very directly and fully informed you take
up the most complex matters, that you do not elude the
problems with a great many high sounding phrases,
and that it is easy to perceive thathyou, are
embued with good faith in our bilateral relations,
and that this will be beneficial for an international
life, which every day becomes more complex throughout
the world. And which makes it necessary for political
leaders to contribute with the greatest intelligence
and experience and all of their good will.
We know that the world is living through
very difficult times and it is only through the spirit
of understanding of frankness that we can transcend
these difficult times so that they will not become too
long.
And Mr. President, I do believe that if in the
future the problems and all other matters that should
come up are to be dealt with as we have dealt with our
problems today in this border area, we will have done
a great deal to lighten our burden and to solve these
problems.
MORE
Page 4
Mr. President, it has been a great pleasure for
me to meet you personally; to dialogue with you, Mr.
President, in the direct and clear manner in which you
speak, not only from conviction but also because this is
your way. And in Mexico, we have no doubt that this
is a very, very favorable sign so that the friendship
between the two countries will become deeper and will
continue into the future and strengthen vigorously and
without ever being blemished.
Gentlemen, I offer a toast to the health of the
President of the United States and of the friendship
of the two countries.
END
(AT 4:40 P.M. MST)