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Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand

July 28, 1969

Your Majesties, Mr. Lord Mayor, Your Excellencies, and all of the citizens of Bangkok and those from the United States who are gathered here today:

I want to express my deepest appreciation for receiving the key to this city-a city that I have known and, like anyone who knows this city, I have come to love.

As I think back on the many occasions that I have been here, I realize why this city means so much to so many people, not only in Thailand but throughout the world.

Some of you who are listening to me today may recall that not long ago an article appeared in an American magazine in which I was asked to describe among all the great cities of the world I had visited the one that I would recommend first and above all to any tourist, and I chose the city of Bangkok.

I did so for a number of reasons: first, because it is truly a beautiful city; and, second, because here, as much as any city in the world, we have combined the old with the new, a great sense of history with all of the monuments that remind us of a magnificent past, and yet all of the progress of a modern city.

But there was a deeper reason that I chose this city, as I called it the perfect city, if I were to pick one, of all the cities of the world that I would like to visit again.

It is because of the people of this city and the people of this nation. They are a people who command respect from all those who know them. They are a people who have a proud tradition of freedom. This is truly the land of 'the free. And they are also a people who have a capacity for hospitality that is unequaled anywhere in the world.

I speak deeply from my heart when I say that to have this key will be a treasured possession--a treasured possession as President of the United States, but, more than that, as a citizen of the United States and as a citizen of the world who knows most of the great cities and who comes back to this city with a deep feeling of affection.

I would like to add one other thought. As we drove in through 'the streets from the airport and saw the thousands of people gathered there, including many of the schoolchildren, we were reminded again of the association between the American people and the Thai people, association in war and association in peace.

We were reminded, too, of that when we came by the SEATO Treaty Building, and realized that the SEATO organization has its offices here.

That leads me to say that everyone knows that Thailand and the United States are signatories of that treaty. We are bound together by that treaty.

A treaty can have many meanings. It can be just a scrap of paper with no meaning at all. But as far as Thailand and the United States are concerned, a treaty means far more, because we share common ideals; because what we want for Asia and the world is the right of freedom which Thailand enjoys for all peoples here; because we have been willing to fight for that as we are fighting for it together in Vietnam; because of these deep spiritual and ideological ties that bind us.

The treaty that we have with Thailand means that it is not just another treaty, not just another piece of paper, but that it is one that has a significance far beyond that--a significance which I have indicated time and again in public statements, and I indicate today in my first public statement as I visit Bangkok and this country.

We will honor our obligations under that treaty. We will honor them not simply because we have to, because of the words that we have signed, but because we believe in those words, and particularly believe in them in the association that we have with a proud and a strong people-the people of Thailand.

We have been together in the past. We are together at the present. And the United States will stand proudly with Thailand against those who might threaten it from abroad or from within.

So, again, Mr. Lord Mayor, I thank you for presenting the key to the city. I can only say that I hope that on many occasions in the future, both in a public capacity and a private capacity, I will have the opportunity to use this key and to return again to Bangkok, the great city for all the tourists and for others in the world.

Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at approximately 5 p.m. at the Phan Fah Bridge Pavilion in Bangkok. In his opening words he referred to King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand and Chalit Kulkanthorn, Lord Mayor of Bangkok, who presented him with the key to the city. The Lord Mayor's remarks, which preceded the President's, follow:

Mr. President, Madame Nixon:

The citizens of Bangkok consider today as a wonderful occasion in the history of the city of Bangkok, for it is a great honor for us to welcome you once again.

Mr. President, you have honored us with five previous visits over the past 15 years: first as Vice President of the United States and more recently as a private citizen. You know of the great and rapid changes in our capital and of the rapid progress of our country during these years. Together with the material progress evident, we are fast developing our latent abilities in order that we may secure maximum benefit in the near future. These developments have been enhanced through various sources and one is the strong cooperation which we have received from your country. We owe a great deal to the United States. We have changed for the better since your first visit, Mr. President.

That great respect and admiration with which we greeted you previously also has developed into something greater, at once a profound friendship and an unshakable trust. We look to you as the leader of the peace-seeking nations. We are deeply honored by your presence in our city.

To indicate the warmth of our welcome, may I present to you, sir, the key to our city. Never was a key more symbolic than this, for the gates of our city already are open wide to you, Mr. President.

Richard Nixon, Remarks at a Welcoming Ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/239758

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