Portugal: Arrival in Lisbon Remarks of the President and President Antonio dos Santos Ramalho Panes at the Welcoming Ceremony at Portela Airport.

PRESIDENT EASES. Mr. President, on behalf of my wife, myself, and the Portuguese people, I would like to welcome you and express our warmest and most sincere greetings.

Your Excellency is the first President of the United States of America to pay a state visit to Portugal since the restoration of our democracy. As you have pointed out, the Portuguese people have demonstrated to the world its attachment to freedom and to democratic principles overthrowing a dictatorial regime and overthrowing—[inaudible]. And this, Mr. President, was achieved in the atmosphere of liberty and pluralism, of which we are justly proud.

This is a strong evidence that we will continue to be able to defend the democratic regime which shows the very will of our people and is also the greatest tradition of the American people.

[Inaudible]—meet today, as representatives of two countries sharing the highest ideals of freedom, justice, and human dignity. Based on these principles, the old friendship between Portugal and the United States became stronger than ever before. Considering this friendship and these future perspectives, I would like to express the appreciation of the Portuguese people and to greet on their behalf the great American mission that your Excellency symbolizes and represents here today.

PRESIDENT CARTER. I was extremely pleased to accept the invitation of President Panes to visit Portugal on the occasion of my trip through Europe.

Portugal and the United States have an old and valued friendship. Our countries established diplomatic relations more than 200 years ago. We appointed a Vice Consul to Punta del Gada even before we had written our Declaration of Independence.

Beyond our official relations, the links between our two countries have been nurtured by Portugal's greatest gift to the United States, some of her people who came to our country with a pioneer spirit. Today there are many thousands of Americans who proudly preserve their family heritage brought to our country from Portugal.

Portugal and the United States are both members of a great alliance. That alliance helps to guarantee our mutual security. But it has become more than just a military defense pact. It reflects the basic commitment of all its members to freedom and to democracy.

Over the past 6 years Americans have watched and supported Portugal's successful struggle to build a democracy. That struggle has given hope to believers in democratic liberty throughout the entire world.

For all these reasons, I am grateful for the opportunity to visit Portugal and of being able to meet with your country's leaders.

As you know, I have just come from a meeting of heads of state in Venice. The need for consultation among allies has taken on a new urgency as this new decade begins. We've watched government-sponsored terrorism against American diplomats in Tehran. We've witnessed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and we have seen hundreds of thousands of refugees driven by oppression from their homelands in Southwest Asia, Indochina, and Latin America.

In contrast, the peoples of both Portugal and the United States live in peace and freedom with respect for our neighbors and for our fellow citizens. Both our nations are engaged in helping the great numbers of human beings around the world who are oppressed or desperately poor. Both our nations are trying to build a better and a more humane world.

It is in that spirit that I look forward to these consultations with our Portuguese friends. In the name of my fellow countrymen, let me express the special friendship Americans feel for the people of Portugal. To all Portuguese I bring a warm American abraco.

Thank you very much.