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Remarks on Departure for the Group of Seven Summit

June 15, 1995

Good morning. As you know, I am leaving this morning for my third annual meeting with the leaders of the G-7 industrialized nations. This summit marks another concrete step in our efforts to advance the security and prosperity of the American people by seizing the opportunities of the global economy.

At home, we are working hard to put our economic house in order. We are creating millions of jobs, working for economic growth, and cutting the deficit, which is already the lowest of all the advanced countries in the world. With our new budget proposal we will wipe out the deficit in 10 years, while still making room for critical investments in education and training, which our future demands. Going into this meeting the United States is in a strong position to continue leading our allies in the fight for long term global prosperity.

From the beginning of our administration, we have led the international effort to expand trade on a free and fair basis. We helped to expand world markets with NAFTA and GATT and trade agreements with the Asian-Pacific countries and here with the nations of the Americas. We are helping the former Communist countries to convert to free market economies. In all these areas we have turned back the forces of isolation which tempt us to turn away from the challenges and opportunities of the world.

In Halifax, together with our partners, we will focus on continuing to reform the institutions of the international economy so that we can have more stable, reliable growth—the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and others. For a half century, they have been a sound investment, and we are committed to maintaining our support for them. But now we have to give them new guidance in this new economy so that they can continue to serve our national interests in a changing global economy.

One of the key issues we'll be addressing is creating ways to identify and prevent financial problems from exploding into crises, as they did in Mexico. We will embrace joint initiatives to contain and defuse any crisis that does develop, so that the United States is not the world's lender of last resort. And we'll continue to explore how international organizations, which have helped so many countries to improve the lives of their people, can better aid developing nations and expand the world's market economies.

Finally, together with Russia, we will examine the challenges to our safety and well-being that no country can resolve alone. We'll look at new ways we can work together to combat the scourges of terrorism, nuclear smuggling, drug trafficking, and organized crime. And of course, we will discuss a lot of the security issues that concern us all, including Bosnia and Iran's nuclear ambitions.

When I arrive in Halifax today, I'll be meeting with Prime Minister Murayama of Japan. Our relationship is strong, and we are cooperating on a broad variety of issues, including North Korea, which is terribly important to both of us, the environment, and the problems of terrorism which have visited both our nations recently. But I will also make it clear to the Prime Minister that I am determined to carry through on my effort to open Japan's auto markets. Millions of American exports and thousands of American jobs depend upon our success. And I will say again it is in the long term interest of both the Japanese people and the people of the United States that this trade effort succeed.

All around the world free markets, open trade, new technologies are bringing countries closer together. Every day they are producing untold new opportunities for our people; they also lead us into uncharted territory with new problems. I believe on balance the future is very bright if we have the discipline to face these issues as they arise.

As the world's leading industrialized democracies, those of us in the G-7 have a very special responsibility to address these forces of change. That's what we'll be doing at Halifax.

Thank you very much.

NOTE: The President spoke at 8:40 a.m. at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, MD. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama of Japan.

William J. Clinton, Remarks on Departure for the Group of Seven Summit Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/221155

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