Mr. President, Senora, ladies and gentlemen:
Ordinarily when we have a visitor, a head of state from abroad, we always express the hope that the friendship between the two peoples we represent will be strengthened by such a visit.
In this case, I think it is a rather futile hope--I do not know how the friendship between our two countries could be stronger, and so I will content myself, Mr. President, by saying that the American people are proud of the friendship of your people for ours. We are grateful for it, and we reciprocate it.
And as a symbol of our affection for the people of Colombia, I ask this company to drink with me a Toast to the President of Colombia and Senora Lleras.
Note: The toast was proposed in response to a toast by President Lleras at a dinner which he gave in honor of President Eisenhower. The toast proposed by President Lleras follows:
Mr. President:
We have certainly no words to express our appreciation for the way in which you have treated us, Mr. President--you, and Mrs. Eisenhower, your government and your people. So, if we have no words, the best thing to do is to be silent.
But I invite all of you to drink a Toast to the President of the United States and Mrs. Eisenhower.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Toasts of the President and President Lleras at the Colombian Embassy Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/234148
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