Mr. President, Mrs. Ceausescu, our very distinguished guests from Romania, and ladies and gentlemen:
Mr. President, just a year ago you welcomed me to Bucharest as the first American President ever to visit Romania. And today I am very honored to welcome you to Washington, D.C., as the first President of Romania ever to visit the United States of America.
We shall always remember the very warm reception we received from the Romanian people, and we know that in your travels in the United States you have also sensed the warm feeling of friendship and affection that the people of the United States have for the people of Romania.
Despite our different systems of government, we have friendship and affection for the Romanian people, we have respect for the independence of your government, and we wish to work with you in the cause of peace for the world and progress for our peoples and all peoples.
I believe that our talks a year ago contributed to that great purpose of peace and progress for all peoples in the world and better understanding between our two nations. And I know that the talks we will have on this occasion will make a further contribution to that great goal.
We give you a very warm welcome from all the American people to you, to the members of your party, and to the Romanian people.
Note: The President spoke at 10:39 a.m. on the South Lawn at the White House where President Ceausescu was given a formal welcome with full military honors. See also Item 388. President Ceausescu spoke in Romanian. His remarks, as translated by an interpreter, follow:
Mr. President, Mrs. Nixon, ladies and gentlemen:
I should like to take this evident opportunity to address you all my most cordial greetings on behalf of the Romanian people--and to the people of the United States.
I remember with pleasure your visit to Romania last year, Mr. President, and the conversations we had on that occasion.
I should like to thank you for the kind invitation extended to me to take the opportunity of my presence at the United Nations General Assembly session in order to meet you and to visit a few centers in the United States.
It is true that between Romania and the United States of America there are differences as to the social order and there are also differences in some of the existing problems, but notwithstanding such differences we believe that it is necessary to cooperate together in the economic, scientific, cultural, and other fields in order to contribute to the settlement of the problems which are of concern to the modern world and in a spirit of friendship and cooperation among nations.
It is in this spirit that I would express my hope that this visit in my capacity as President of the Council of State of Romania--which, as you mention it, sir, is the first visit of the kind to the United States, as was also your visit to Romania the first visit of a United States President to Romania--will contribute to the development of cooperation and friendship between our two nations and will serve the cause of cooperation and peace in the world.
