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OCR Page 1 of 23OFF THE RECORD
APRIL 3, 1973
EXCHANGE OF TOASTS BETWEEN
PRESIDENT NGUYEN VAN THIEU OF THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
AND THE PRESIDENT
AT A LUNCHEON HOSTED BY PRESIDENT THIEU
LA CASA PACIFICA
1:20 P.M. PST
PRESIDENT THIEU: Mr. President, Mrs. Nixon,
distinguished guests: It is fitting, indeed, that after two
days of hard work we should relax a little at this poolside.
The intimate setting and the congenial gathering here obviously
do not call for grand, eloquent declarations.
I would simply like to say a personal word of
thanks to you, Mr. President, for the vary charming hospi-
tality which has made our stay on the West Coast a most plea-
sant and fruitful one. May I take this opportunity also to
thank you, Mrs. Nixon, on behalf of my wife, for the kind
reception you have reserved for her during the last two days.
As we are about to leave you, Mr. President, I would
like to express to you not only my own thoughts, but also what
I believe to be the general and deep feelings of the Vietnamese
people at this hour of our history. All of us are relieved
that the war has subsided and that the killing, to a certain
extent, has been significantly reduced. The road to peace is
now open and the Paris agreement, for which we have all fought
very hard, thus becomes a landmark in the history of Indochina.
The Vietnamese people can now think of peace, but we also know
that the challenges of peace are not going to be easy.
History has taught us, the experience of other
countries as well as our own have taught us, that the tran-
sition from war to peace is never a totally smooth-running
operation, especially in the present situation in Vietnam,
where Communist threats cannot yet be dismissed out of hand.
With determination, discipline and the help of friends, how-
ever, we are confident that we will successfully meet every
challenge of peace. In this endeavor, we are very happy to
have the United States stand by our side in peace as it did
in the more difficult circumstances of our history, for with
your continued assistance, I am certain the Vietnamese can
make the dream of peace come true, with a lasting glory of
the friendship between our two nations.
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