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President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush stand for press photographs with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Mrs. Akie Abe Thursday, April 26, 2007, as they arrive at the North Portico for a social dinner at the White House. White House photo by Eric Draper

President George W. Bush and Mrs. Laura Bush stand for press photographs with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife Mrs. Akie Abe Thursday, April 26, 2007, as they arrive at the North Portico for a social dinner at the White House. White House photo by Eric Draper

President Bush and Prime Minister Abe of Japan Participate in a Joint Press Availability

Camp David


11:09 A.M. EDT

PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you. Welcome. Mr. Prime Minister, Shinzo, welcome to Camp David. I thank you very much for making the long journey. I also thank you for bringing your gracious wife to dinner last night.

The Abes and Laura and I had a really good dinner; it was very relaxed. The Prime Minister married very well. I was so impressed by Akie's compassion, her intelligence and I will tell you, Shinzo, that Laura feels like she has a new friend now, and so do I. So we're really glad you're here.

We had the kind of discussion you'd expect allies to have. I would describe the talks as -- first of all, Shinzo and I met alone for a good period of time. Our talks were very relaxed, but they were strategic. We think about the interest of our country and we think about the interest of maintaining peace in the world. The alliance between Japan and the United States has never been stronger. And the Prime Minister and I will work hard to keep it that way. It's in the interest of our peoples that we work closely.

I told Shinzo one way to do so, of course, is to visit. I hope he comes to my ranch soon. I looked forward to welcoming here to Camp David, but I also look forward to taking him down there -- one might call it a little slice of heaven.

We talked about the fact that our alliance -- and it is a global alliance -- is rooted in common values, especially our commitment to freedom and democracy. We discussed ways we can continue to partner together. There's no more important partnership than that through the six-party talks. We spent a lot of time talking about North Korea and our mutual desire for North Korea to meet its obligations. Our partners in the six-party talks are patient, but our patience is not unlimited. We expect North Korea to meet all its commitments under the February 13th agreement, and we will continue working closely with our partners.

Full Transcript

President and Mrs. Bush to Welcome Prime Minister of Japan and Mrs. Abe to the White House

President and Mrs. Bush will welcome the Prime Minister of Japan and Mrs. Abe to the White House on April 26, 2007 for dinner. On April 27, the two leaders will meet at Camp David and will review the continuing strong cooperation in bilateral alliance matters and in economic relations. They will discuss their close cooperation in global affairs, including the war on terror, progress in Iraq, next steps in the Six Party talks, and energy and climate policies. The President looks forward to hosting the Japanese leader for his first visit to the United States as Prime Minister.