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7346712
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Exchange of remarks between the President and His Excellency Giulio Andreotti [Ford Speech or Statement]
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7346712
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document
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Exchange of remarks between the President and His Excellency Giulio Andreotti [Ford Speech or Statement]
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White House Press Releases (Ford Administration)
Press Releases
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Italy
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7346712
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6
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1976-12-06
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12
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1976
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Digitized from Box 34 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DECEMBER 6, 1976
OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE
EXCHANGE OF REMARKS BETWEEN
THE PRESIDENT AND
HIS EXCELLENCY GIULIO ANDREOTTI
PRESIDENT, COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC
THE SOUTH LAWN
10:45 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Prime Minister Andreotti, I am
delighted to welcome you and your party to Washington,
D. C., our national Capital.
I have long looked forward to this meeting
since July, when you took office as President of the
Council of Ministers.
Since that time you have worked intensely and
with great courage and determination on the difficult
issues facing your nation and your government.
I am extremely pleased that you have found time
for this visit and for consultations on the broad range of
interests shared by our two governments.
During the last two years the United States and
Italy have consulted at the highest levels with greater
frequency than ever before. President Leone's State visit
to the United States in 1974 was the first State visit of
this Administration.
Our leaders have met at NATO summits and economic
summits and at the European Security Conference.
I remember with great warmth my own trip to your
country a year and a half ago and the friendship extended
to me on behalf of the American people by the Italian
people and your government.
We are friends. We are allies. We have worked
together and solved problems together. We will do so in
the future.
Few countries have so special a place in the
hearts of the American people. The United States and
Italy are committed to freedom and share a firm dedication
to democracy. We are both committed to the strength of
the North Atlantic Alliance and to the reduction of tension
which threatens international peace and stability.
America values the constructive role of Italy in
the world today and in the past. We deeply appreciate
Italy's contribution to NATO; your contribution to a
stronger Europe; working together with the United States;
your contribution to the dialogue with the developing
nations; and your dedication to peace and international
understanding.
MORE
Page 2
Mr. Prime Minister, our two governments have made
it a priority task to strengthen the North Atlantic Alliance.
The Alliance has made progress in strengthening its defenses,
standardizing equipment and coordination of strategies and
planning. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done.
All of us know that the defenses, strength and the
cohesion of our Alliance are crucial to the balance of power
in Europe that is so critical to European freedom and inter-
national security.
Our Alliance, of course, has a purpose beyond
military defense. The United States and Italy both recognize
that Western Europe unity is a pillar of world peace. We
must reduce tensions and reduce the possibility of confron-
tation in Central Europe where almost 2 million armed men
face one another. We must improve mutually beneficial
cooperation between Western and Eastern Europe.
The industrial democracy, if we are to be the
masters of our destiny, must work together, for we share
basic, common interests on global issues -- from defense to
energy, the environment, trade and relations -- with the
developing countries of the world.
Mr. Prime Minister, our discussions on these many
issues will be of great value to the United States not only
in practical terms but to reaffirm our profound friendship.
Few nations are linked as strongly as the United
States of America and the Republic of Italy by history, cul-
ture, economics and the immigration of people. Our friend-
ship has deep roots that insure its preservation.
Italy's contribution was one of the highlights
of America's Bicentennial celebration. We especially wel-
comed, Mr. Prime Minister, the visit of Mrs. Vittoria
Leone, the First Lady of Italy, when the La Scala Opera
came here for its spectacular performance. The American
people thank you for this wonderful presentation.
I look forward with great anticipation, Mr. Prime
Minister, to our discussions today and tonight. As two
democratic allies, we have a large area of common ground and
many common concerns.
I bid you and your party, on behalf of the American
people, a hearty welcome to the United States of America.
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Page 3
THE PRIME MINISTER: Mr. President, I am deeply
grateful for the invitation you are kind enough to extend to
me at the particularly challenging time for my country.
Two years after the visit of President Leone,
whom you kindly mentioned, your invitation confirms the
frequency of our meetings and the spirit of closeness and
sincere friendship between the United States and Italy.
And I equally thank you for the warm words you just
expressed about my country and myself.
The United States and Italy are bonded by ties of
alliance and cooperation, by harmonious ideals of democracy
and by choices of peace, freedom and development. The
Atlantic Alliance, which binds our two nations in the common
objective of defense, represents a guarantee of the security
for the Western world to which we belong, for historical
vocation, and on account of the political choice, which
proves to be an essential element of the international
strategic balance, basic conditions for the detente policy
which will create the basis of a long-lasting peace.
With the same objectives of peace and progress,
Italy is engaged together with its partners of the European
community in a policy of unity which will permit Europe to
contribute to the creation of a more just and stable world.
Many elements unite us the interests in social
and cultural progress, in the advancement of science and
respect of men, in the choice of a style of life which
guarantees and protects to the greatest extent the develop-
ment of capabilities and potential for initiative of the
individual. The awareness, both political and moral, of the
necessary interrelationship and solidarity among all nations,
the search. for international order, which emphasizes at the
same time the rights of men and those of nations.
A vision of international relations which aim,
to quote the unforgettable worlds of George Washington's
farewell speech, "as good faith and justice towards
nations and cultivating peace and harmony with everybody",
but beyond these common ideals our two countries are joined
by the presence in this hospitable country of America of a
large community of Italian Americans who through their work
and human qualities honor the land of origin and contribute
to the increased prosperity and greatness of their new country.
The Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence
of the United States reminds us of the ideals of the founding
fathers who are both yours and ours; the founders of the
United States and those of major instruments of an era of
Western history which brought men and his freedom to the
center of our civilization.
The American Revolution is an element of the
continuity of Western history and also renews it. It allows
the Western World to accept the challenges of science,
technology, industry and to carry out a social transformation
which is of paramount importance within the framework of the
humanistic society, inspired in the values we discovered
in the renaissance men. This era of the Western World's
history cannot be considered complete. Its motivations and
MORE
Page 4
hopes are still alive. The ideal thrust must renew itself
through a constant critical search for the most adequate
objectives in order to accept present and future challenges.
To this purpose we are stimulated by the commitment
and the concerns of the new generation.
Mr. President, during the scheduled meetings we will
deal with many issues because the present circumstances
present many problems and they require an effort, imagination
and understanding, but the guarantee of their success is given
by the spirit of openness and sincerity which always
characterized the Italian-American relationships during the
past 30 years.
Mr. President, on behalf of the President of the
Italian Republic, of the Italian Government and conveying
the feelings of the Italian people, I bring you warm and
friendly greetings which I extend to Mrs. Ford and to your
entire family.
END
(AT 11:00 A.M. EDT)