> REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSH AND PRIME MINISTER SAMAK OF THAILAND
>
> THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary(Bangkok,
> Thailand)______________________________________________________________For
> Immediate Release August 6, 2008
>
> REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BUSHAND PRIME MINISTER SAMAK OF THAILAND
>
> Government HouseBangkok, Thailand 7:51 P.M. (Local)
>
> PRIME MINISTER SAMAK: We are pleased to welcome President Bush visit
> to Thailand on the auspicious occasion of the celebration of 175th
> anniversary of Thai-U.S. relations. As Thailand has now assumed the
> ASEAN chairmanship, we will use the opportunity to strengthen our
> engagement and cooperation with the U.S. both bilaterally and through
> ASEAN. President Bush and I had just a very good discussion on several
> issues of common interest. We discussed the strengthening of the
> close military and the security cooperation which benefit both
> countries and the region. A case in point is our military close
> partnership during the tsunami and post-Cyclone Nargis to facilitate
> access of American relief and assistance to the effected countries. We
> will continue our discussion on the other regional issues over the
> dinner this evening. President Bush expressed his appreciation for
> Thailand's humanitarian role in sheltering displaced persons from
> neighboring countries for over 30 years. I also thanked the President
> for the United States' understanding on the Preah Vihear issue. We
> agreed to enhance the Thai-U.S. relation by focusing on education,
> public health, sciences, security and law enforcement cooperation.
> Our two countries share a long and special connection. President Bush
> -- former President Bush Senior and Mrs. Barbara Bush came to Thailand
> to pay tribute to His Majesty the King on the occasion of the 60th
> anniversary of accession to the throne in December 2006. Looking
> towards the future we agreed that our alliance and friendship will
> remain firm and close as in the past 174 years, we need to continue
> working closely together to further strengthen our relationship and
> goodwill for the benefit of our two countries and the region.
> PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. Sawtdee Khrab.
> (Laughter.) Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for welcoming Laura and me,
> and our daughter, Barbara, to your beautiful country. I want to thank
> you very much for welcoming us on behalf of His Majesty the King and
> Her Majesty the Queen. We appreciate the opportunity to come back,
> and we honor the friendship that has been in existence for 175 years.
> I want to thank you very much for being such a strong ally in the war
> against terror. Our nations are strengthening our security and
> defense cooperation. Thailand continues to host Cobra Gold, which is
> one of the largest annual multilateral training exercises in Southeast
> Asia. Thailand's troops have helped the people of Iraq and Afghanistan
> as they battle extremists and strengthen their democracy, and I want
> to thank you for those contributions, Mr. Prime Minister. America and
> Thailand are coordinating our law enforcement, counterterrorism and
> counter-proliferation activities so we can do a better job of
> protecting our citizens from danger. The United States and Thailand
> are working to expand freedom with good governance. I want to thank
> you very much and congratulate the people of Thailand for restoring
> its democracy. Through the Asia Pacific Democracy Partnership, our
> nations are working together to strengthen democratic values and
> institutions throughout the region. As the Chair of ASEAN, we support
> your efforts to reduce trade barriers, and to expand economic
> opportunity, and help Southeast Asia grow in hope. The United States
> and Thailand work together to fight disease. I don't think our
> citizens understand this, Mr. Prime Minister, but we've dedicated $35
> million to help prevent and treat HIV/AIDS here in Thailand, and we're
> happy to do so. Looking forward to going tomorrow to the clinic where
> we get to see the efforts of the initiative, it's called the Mercy
> Center -- and I appreciate you arranging that for me to go see, Mr.
> Prime Minister. We're also working on avian flu. I think it's very
> important for our nations to prepare for the worst. Obviously, we're
> hoping for the best. And so we've got a good, strong initiative on
> avian flu. We're working together to help the people of Burma. We
> responded very quickly when Burma was struck by the terrible cyclone,
> and I want to thank you very much for your leadership on that issue.
> After all, yours was the place where much of the world aid came to be
> distributed to the poor people there that were deeply affected by the
> storm. We want to see prosperity and freedom restored to Burma.
> Tomorrow, Laura is going to the Thai-Burmese border to visit a
> resettlement camp where Burmese refugees are receiving health care and
> humanitarian aid. She's looking forward to the trip, and I'm looking
> forward to hearing her report from the trip. So Mr. Prime Minister, I
> want to thank you very much for your hospitality. I want to thank you
> for feeding my delegation. (Laughter.) We're looking forward to
> eating some good Thai food -- which is very famous throughout the
> world. Please give my very best regards to His Majesty and Her
> Majesty. PRIME MINISTER SAMAK: I will. PRESIDENT BUSH: And thank you
> very much for being so gracious. PRIME MINISTER SAMAK: All right.
> Thank you. END 7:57 P.M. (Local)---