Remarks at the closing session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Santiago

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Nov 29, 2004

November 20, 2004

Thank you very much. Sientese. Gracias. Thank you for the warm welcome. It is such an honor to be in Chile. Who is ever responsible for the weather, thank you very much. Laura and I are delighted to be here. Chile is such a fabulous country. It's a great place to talk about entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial spirit. It's a country which shows the world what is possible when you create the right conditions for economic vitality and economic growth. And we're so honored to be here.

I want to thank my friend Ricardo Lagos for organizing this summit. I appreciate the business leaders who are here. I thank you for your interest in working collaboratively with business leaders from around the world. And as a result of vision and hard work, we meet today on the eastern rim of an incredibly dynamic region.

In our lifetimes, we've seen the Asia-Pacific region grow in wealth and freedom beyond many--beyond that which many thought was possible. If you think back about 20 years ago, what people thought about the Asian-Pacific region, they couldn't imagine such prosperity and such wealth and such freedom. And that's what APEC is all about, as far as I'm concerned. And that's why it's an honor to be here at this summit with my fellow leaders.

Incredibly enough, APEC economies account for nearly half of all the world trade and half of the world's economic output. For somebody who is interested in prosperity for my own citizens, it's a good place to hang out, with that much trade, commerce. And I believe that this new century, with the right policies, can extend the prosperity even further. And that's what we're here to discuss.

I believe we must increase the flow of trade and capital. I know our societies must reward enterprise and open societies and open markets. I know we've got to reject the blocks and barriers that divide economies and people. And I believe, with the right policies, we can continue to grow.

I'm honored to be here today with a man who has served our country so well, a great United States Secretary of State, Colin Powell. Right after my speech, he's headed to the Middle East. That's a heck of a retirement, Mr. Secretary. [Laughter] I look forward to your report when you get back.

I want to thank the U.S. members of the APEC Business Advisory Council. I want to thank you for your hard work. I want to thank you for representing our country so well. I appreciate Gary Benanav and Mike Drucker--Mike Ducker and Robert Prieto for your hard work in organizing this summit and representing the business leaders who are here.

You know, what's interesting about our country is that for years, we were isolated from the world by two great oceans, and for a while we got a false sense of security as a result of that. We thought we were protected forever from trade policy or terrorist attacks because oceans protected us. What's interesting about today's world is that the oceans now connect us. It didn't take all that long in the march of history for that change to take place. And therefore, America must respect and value the friendships that we're able to make as a result of our transatlantic and transpacific ties. Right after I'm inaugurated, I'll go to Europe to renew our transatlantic ties, to remind the people of Europe how important my administration regards our vital Atlantic alliance.***

And of course, our Nation is Pacific country as well. And that's why the APEC * conferences are so important. Do you realize, the capital of our 50th State is nearly as close to Sydney and Manila as it is to Washington, DC? That's a Pacific Rim nation. More than 15 percent of Americans claim Hispanic or Asian-Pacific heritage. Our APEC partners account for nearly two-thirds of all American exports and imports. America's future is inseparable from our friends in the Pacific. And by working together and by continuing to foster reasonable progrowth economic policies, the fellowship of Pacific nations will continue to be strong. That's what I'm here to tell you.

There is a different attitude in the world about foreign policies, particularly if you happen to be an influential nation. In the past, many powerful nations preferred others to remain underdeveloped and therefore dependent. It was a cynical doctrine. And that doctrine is unsuited for our times. In this century, countries benefit from healthy, prosperous, confident partners. Weak and troubled nations export their ills, problems like economic instability and illegal immigration and crime and terrorism. America and others sitting around the table here at APEC understand that healthy and prosperous nations export and import goods and services that help to stabilize regions and add security to every nation. So we've got three clear goals to help spread prosperity and hope and to secure the peace.

We want to seek wider trade and broader freedom and greater security for the benefit of our partners and for the benefit of all. That's what I'm going to do over the next 4 years. The first goal is to lower barriers to trade and investment and to promote sound fiscal policies for all our governments. Free and fair trade combined with prudent fiscal discipline are the foundation of the region's remarkable prosperity, and I'm cornmired to staying on the path to pro-growth pro-economic growth--economic growth by pro-growth policies. We're doing our part.