President BUSH and Italian Prime Minister BERLUSCONI Discuss Middle East, Economy
PRESIDENT BUSH: There will be two opening statements, and then we'll take two questions per side. Thank you for coming.
Silvio, it's great to welcome you back to our country. I think it's fitting that one of the first world leaders to have visited after our elections is my friend, Silvio Berlusconi. He is a close personal friend. He is a friend of the United States of America. I told the Prime Minister I look forward to working with him over the next four years to make the world a better place for all. And I've got work to do in Europe, and he gave me some very good advice about my upcoming trip. But he always gives me good advice. And I'm proud to have his advice.
We talked about peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. I think there's a very good chance that we can achieve that peace. I look forward to working toward that end. The Prime Minister had good advice on that subject, as well.
He expressed his concerns about the relationship between the dollar and the euro. I told him we're going to take this issue on seriously with the Congress. The best thing that we can do from the executive branch of government in America is to work with Congress to deal with our deficits. One deficit is a short-term budget deficit. Another deficit is the unfunded liabilities that come with Social Security and some of the health programs for the elderly. I told the Prime Minister that Social Security reform will be at the top of my agenda. I campaigned on the issue. I look forward to working with members of Congress to resolve this long-term, unfunded issue, so that the world financiers can take comfort in the fact that this government will address one part of the budget deficit. There's a trade deficit. That's easy to resolve; people can buy more United States products if they're worried about the trade deficit.
But we've had a good visit. And I'm proud my friend is here.
And finally, we discussed our mutual desire to spread freedom and peace. I want to thank the Prime Minister for his understanding about the need for the free world to succeed in Afghanistan and Iraq. He's the kind of man, when he gives you his word, he keeps his word, which is the sign of an impressive, strong leader.
So thank you for coming.
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(The White House)
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
