Statement on the President's Visit to Pakistan.

IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE for me to visit Pakistan, where I always have found a warm welcome from a great and friendly people. It is a special pleasure for me to return on this, my sixth visit, but my first as President.

This will be a working visit, during which I look forward to discussing many matters of mutual interest with Pakistan's leaders. At the outset, however, there are several points I would like to emphasize.

First, I want to convey the sense of friendship and respect that the people of my country feel for the people of Pakistan and that my Government feels for the Government of Pakistan. This is a feeling that has existed between our countries for many years and under a variety of circumstances. There have been good times and there have been some difficult times. There have been times when we have not understood each other as well as we might and there have been other times when we have worked very closely together. But through all of these experiences, the basic feeling of friendship and respect has not been lost. I come here today to re-express that feeling--and to reaffirm the stable and cordial relationship between our nations which that feeling makes possible.

Second, a stable and cordial relationship must be built on a clear understanding by each of our governments of the interests and viewpoints of the other, and of the way in which the other sees important problems. I look forward, on this visit, to our sharing in candor our respective assessments of our national interests and informing each other of our views on a wide variety of subjects.

Third, I want to stress the continuing interest of the United States in the progress of Pakistan and all of Asia. Just as the historic trip to the moon has opened a new era in human history, so the dramatic changes taking place in this part of the world will have an enormous impact on men everywhere. The United States will continue to give strong encouragement to Asian development.

Fourth, I wish to communicate my Government's conviction that Asian hands must shape the Asian future. This is true, for example, with respect to economic aid, for it must be related to the total pattern of a nation's life. It must support the unique aspirations of each people. Its purpose is to encourage self-reliance, not dependence. And this it has done in Pakistan.

Fifth, I want to say that we share your concern for the well-being of the great numbers of individuals who form the backbone of our societies. Governments are at their best when they look not just to the overall well-being of the nation but to the opportunity of individual men, women, and children. That is where the strength of a nation lies.

Finally, it is our hope that Asians will work more closely with each other in a variety of constructive bilateral and regional projects. The Regional Cooperation for Development organization in which Pakistan participates with Iran and Turkey is one encouraging example of such activity.

I mention all these points because I believe these policies represent the best way of bringing peace and progress to Asia. I am confident that our talks here in Lahore will advance that common goal.