Remarks Welcoming President Oscar Luigi Scalfaro of Italy

President Scalfaro, Mariana Scalfaro, members of the Italian delegation, distinguished guests: On behalf of the American people, I am delighted to welcome President Scalfaro to the United States. It is an honor to return the gracious hospitality the people of Italy showed to Hillary and me in Rome and Naples in 1994.

America and Italy are joined by friendship, family, and values. Our Founding Fathers drew inspiration from the thinkers of ancient Rome to build a new republic based on laws and rooted in liberty and justice. Thomas Jefferson was moved by the ideas of his friend Filippo Mazzei to write the immortal phrase, "All men are created equal." Constantino Brumidi, an artist from Rome, labored for 25 years on the frescoes that adorn our Nation's Capital. Generations of Italian-Americans have contributed beyond measure to America's greatness, enriching our Nation's character with their spirit and the strength of their heritage.

America and Italy stood together for half a century to safeguard Europe's freedom and advance our common ideals. Now with the end of the cold war, the United States looks to Italy as a valued partner more than ever, from keeping the peace in troubled regions to building an undivided Europe.

Earlier this year I visited Aviano Air Base, where the United States and Italy work together to contain the conflict in Bosnia and provide a lifeline to the Bosnian people. Now we are joined in a common support of the peace that is taking hold in Bosnia. I know I speak for all Americans when I thank the people of Italy, its leaders, its troops, and its citizens for the enormous effort they have made to bring peace to the people of Bosnia.

I also thank Italy for its support for our common efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East and for its role in the recent conference at Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt.

Italy and the United States stand together as well in the fight against the forces of hatred and violence—the organized criminals, the drug traffickers, the terrorists who have brought pain and destruction to Italians and Americans alike.

Mr. President, the bonds between our people stretch across the centuries. They extend from the hearts of our neighborhoods to the distant reaches of the heavens where America and Italy now are cooperating on the international space station. As I said in Rome, and I say again, we, Italians and Americans, are now and forever alleati, amici, una famiglia—allies, friends, a family.

Welcome to the White House. Welcome to America.