Pelosi Remarks Before Meeting with President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy

WASHINGTON, May 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a brief press availability this morning with President Giorgio Napolitano of Italy prior to their meeting in the Capitol.  Below is a transcript of the press availability:

Speaker Pelosi.  Good morning.  It is a personal and an official privilege for me to welcome the President of Italy to the United States Capitol.  He is recognized as a great leader, not only in his own country but throughout the world.  

The friendship between Italy and the United States is one that is treasured by both of us.  We are grateful to Italy for being a platform and extending hospitality to American troops in Italy, which has been central in the engagements that we have been involved in.  America has no better friend in NATO than the Republic of Italy.      

President Napolitano, as I mentioned, is recognized as a leader throughout the world: a recognized scholar, champion of democracy and pluralism, and again, a person who commands respect wherever he goes.  In a few minutes, we will have a meeting with a bipartisan leadership group of Members.  I am very pleased that we have such tremendous participation.  We even had to change rooms, such interest is there in President Napolitano's visit and his comments.  We hope to hear from him today about the European Union, how we can all work together better on our common agendas, which of course is to keep the world safe from terrorism, to grow our economies in a way that makes everyone accessible to the prosperity we hope to grow, and to do so in a way that is fiscally sound and financially responsible.

Again, the Capitol has been blessed with beautiful Italian contributions.  When I became Speaker, Mr. President, I had the curator restore a lot of the Italian artwork that makes our Capitol so beautiful, not only here, but in the Rotunda and throughout the Capitol.  It is a sign, another link to Italy.

But we have tens of millions of links to Italy in the contributions that are made by Italian Americans in our country, and we all think that President Napolitano must have the best job in the world to be the President of Italy.

And it is with that enthusiasm that I welcome him.  I am pleased that the Foreign Minister of Italy is with us; the American Ambassador is with us; the Italian Ambassador is with us as well.  And I now want to yield, on behalf of all of the Members of the House of Representatives, to welcome President Napolitano to the Capitol.  

President Napolitano.  I just want to thank Madam Pelosi for her so cordial welcoming.  It is not the first time we meet.  We already met here, and we met in Italy.  And I want to say my admiration for the first lady Speaker of the House of Representatives.  I am not wrong.  And she is the first lady Speaker of Italian origin.  

Speaker Pelosi.  The first Speaker of Italian origin.  Male or female. [Laughter.]

President Napolitano.  Well, I am here also to address the joint leadership meeting, which is an occasion to deliver a message on behalf of Italy.  I represent, as the Italian constitution clearly says, national unity, that means Italy, Italian institutions and Italian people as a whole.  And just taking into account this one date, for the President of the Italian Republic, I think I can give my contribution to a farther furthering of relations between Italy and United States.  And if you want, between Italy, Europe and United States, which is absolutely necessary in the moment we are living.

Thank you very much.  

Speaker Pelosi.  Can you tell us about your meeting with President Obama?  

President Napolitano. Oh, yes.  Of course, I came to Washington on the invitation of President Obama.  We met in Italy one year ago at the eve of the G8 meeting in L'Aquila, and he kindly invited me to come to Washington.  And we had a fruitful conversation concerning all issues of the present time, particularly regarding the financial and economic crisis, the financial storm which hit Europe, and the necessity of a joint reaction of America and Europe in order to have more financial stability and more growth in the common interest.

Thank you.  

Speaker Pelosi.  Thank you all.                      

SOURCE Office of the Speaker of the House