and my administration, welcome President Mubarak for his first

visit since I've taken office. I want to publicly thank him for

the extraordinary hospitality that he showed us when I

traveled to Egypt and delivered my speech at Cairo University.

It was an extraordinary visit, not only because of the great

welcome that I received from the President and the college

students who were in attendance, but also having an opportunity

to visit the pyramids was a once-in-a-lifetime experience

for me. The United States and Egypt have worked together

closely for many years, and for many of those years President

Mubarak has been a leader and a counselor and a friend to the

United States. We obviously have a lot of great challenges that

have to be dealt with and we are continuing to work together to

find those areas where we can find common ground and to work

in concert to bring peace and security to the region.

The Arab-Israeli situation is something that has been of

ongoing interest and we had an extensive conversation about how

we could help to jumpstart an effective process on all sides

to move away from a status quo that is not working for the

Israeli people, the Palestinian people, or, I think, the region

as a whole. We discussed our common concerns about the

potential proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region,

including the development of nuclear weapons by Iran,

and how we could work together on those fronts.

We discussed Iraq -- and I want to thank the government of Egypt

for being an Arab country that has moved forward to try to

strengthen Iraq as it emerges from a wartime footing and a

transition to a more stable democracy.

And we continued to talk about how we can work together on

economic development issues, education issues, health issues,

that can promote the interests of both the American people as

well as the Egyptian people.

Just to take one example, we have agreed to work together

with the Organization of Islamic States to eradicate polio,

something that we've been able to successfully deal with here

in the United States but still has impact on populations

throughout the Muslim communities around the world.

And so these are the kinds of partnerships that we want to

continue to build. There are some areas where we still have

disagreements, and where we do have disagreements we have a

frank and honest exchange.

So I just want to say once again that I am grateful to President

Mubarak for his visit, for his willingness to work with us on

these critical issues, and to help advance the interest of

peace and prosperity around the world.

Thank you very much. Welcome.

(Speaking Arabic)

President Mubarak: (as translated) First of all,

this is the third time that I meet with President Obama.

The first time was in Cairo, when he came to give his

address. It was a very strong address and it removed all

doubts about the United States and the Muslim world.

(Speaking Arabic)

The importance of the Cairo visit was very appreciated by

the Muslim and Islamic world because the Islamic world had

thought that the U. S. was against Islam, but his great,

fantastic address there has removed all those doubts.

(Speaking Arabic)

That was the first time.

Now, the second time where we met was in Italy during the G15

summit. We didn't have much time to go in depth into discussions,

but we did have some quick discussion.

(Speaking Arabic)

The third time I meet with President Obama is here today at

the White House. We have discussed an array of issues

from our bilateral relations to the issues of the Middle East,

the region, to the Palestinian issue, to the issue of Iran,

Somalia, and the Africa Horn. Also, several other issues --

even we discussed the issue of reform inside Egypt.

And I told to President Obama very frankly and very friendly

that I have entered into the elections based on a platform

that included reforms, and therefore we have started to

implement some of it and we still have two more

years to implement it.

(Speaking Arabic)

Our relations between us and the United States

are very good relations and strategic relations.

And despite some of the hoops that we had with previous

administrations, this did not change the nature of our

bilateral relations.

(Speaking Arabic)

We have perhaps focused greatly on the

Palestinian issue because it's the pivotal issue.

(Speaking Arabic)

And the Palestinian issue has impact on the world, on the

region, whether for the West or also for the United States.

(Speaking Arabic)

We have also discussed the issue of Iran and the issue

of nuclear Iran, and we talked about these issues very frankly.

(Speaking Arabic)

And in conclusion of my remarks, I would like to thank President

Obama for his welcome to me here at the White House and I also

salute him as I did -- and this is since five years -- I also

salute President Obama for all his efforts with regard to the

Palestinian issue. Since his first day at the White House he

started working on it.

(Speaking Arabic)

And I assured him that we will

cooperate with him and we will be very strong in these efforts,

whether with regard to the Palestinian issue or the

other regional issues. And I thank him again.

President Obama: Okay, we've got one question each.

The Press: Both Presidents, if I may.

Reports from Jerusalem today that the Israeli government has

not given permission for any new settlements to be built,

although ones that were in process are still in process --

and I'm wondering if you have talked about that issue and if

that's the sort of thing that goes at least partway to meeting

what you're asking the Israelis to do.

And also what's in the West Bank and in Jerusalem.

President Obama: There has been movement in the right direction

and I came in from the start saying that all parties

concerned had to take some concrete steps to restart

serious negotiations to resolve what has been a longstanding

conflict that is not good for the Israeli people and is not

good for its neighbors. And I think that the Israeli

government has taken discussions with us very seriously.

George Mitchell has been back and forth repeatedly;

he will be heading back out there next week.

And my hope is that we are going to see not just movement from

the Israelis, but also from the Palestinians around issues of

incitement and security, from Arab states that show their

willingness to engage Israel.

If all sides are willing to move off of the rut that we're in

currently, then I think there is a extraordinary opportunity to

make real progress. But we're not there yet.

I'm encouraged by some of the things I'm seeing on the ground.

We've been seeing reports in the West Bank in particular that

checkpoints have been removed in some situations.

The security forces of the Palestinian Authority have

greatly improved and have been able to deal with the security

situation on the West Bank in a way that has inspired not just

confidence among the Israeli people, but also among the

Palestinian people. There's been some increased economic activity

on the West Bank. All of this is creating a climate in which it's

possible for us to see some positive steps and hopefully

negotiate towards a final resolution of these longstanding

issues. But everybody is going to have to take steps;

everybody is going to have to take some risks. It's going to

require a lot of hard work, and the United States is committed

to being a partner in this process. And Egypt will be as

important as any other party in helping to move the process

forward because Egypt is uniquely positioned in

some ways having very strong relationships with Israel,

with the Palestinians, and with other Arab states, and President

Mubarak has as much experience in the region as anybody.

(Speaking Arabic)

President Mubarak: (as translated) I would like to add on what President Obama

has just said, and I say that we are trying and working on this

goal to bring the two parties to sit together and to get

something from the Israeli party and to get something from the

Palestinian party. If we perhaps can get them to sit together,

we will help. And also, I have contacts with the Israeli party.

I have received calls and contacts with the Prime Minister

of Israel, with the head of the state,

and also with the Minister of Defense.

We are speaking in a good manner and we are moving into the right

direction. But the two parties need to sit together,

and this then will give hope that there is a possibility of

finding a solution to the Palestinian issue,

because it has been ongoing since 60 years.

And with this issue ongoing, we lose a lot,

and also this will increase violence.

So we support the efforts of the United States to move towards

finding a solution.

(Speaking Arabic)

If this is the issue of Jerusalem that you

are asking about, I tell you this is a complicated issue.

Then -- back then, a time ago, when we -- at former President

Clinton's era, we almost neared finding an equation to find a

solution for this issue. But afterwards, eight years

afterwards, there was nothing and this issue moved very

slowly. However, if we can find some solution to this,

this would be helpful.

The Press: President Mubarak, you just mentioned about the 60

years conflict. You have been in that conflict as a warrior and

as a peacemaker together for a long time. What's different

this time? It has been ups and downs, disappointments and

achievements. What's different this time? And are we going into

another peace process, or are we going again heading for a final

status kind of negotiations that finish that business?

And for President Obama, if you care to comment -- President

Mubarak said we cannot afford failure this time.

What stands between us now and success?

(Speaking Arabic)

President Mubarak: (as translated) As I said before, this is a complicated

issue. I have worked a long time ago when I was in the army,

and afterwards during my access of presidency.

This issue has been ongoing 60 years. And we cannot afford

wasting more time, because violence will increase, and

violence has increased. The level of violence is now much

more than it was 10 years ago. Therefore, we need to find -- to

move to the final status solution and level.

And I have contacted the Israelis,

and they said perhaps you can talk about a temporary solution

or perhaps the final status. But I told them, no, forget about

the temporary solution and forget about temporary borders.

That's why I came today to talk to President Obama and to see

that if we move forward on this issue, it will give more hope

and more confidence to the people about this issue.

(Speaking Arabic)

The negotiations of the final status will not be easy and it

will be fraught of complications.

(Speaking Arabic)

This issue contains the issue of Jerusalem,

the issue of refugees, the issue of the borders.

But I believe that, in cooperation with the United

States and through our relations with Israel,

I believe that we can reach a solution, because the Arab

people want peace and want a better life, and the Israeli

people also want peace and stability in their lives.

President Obama: Well, I think President Mubarak said it well:

It's going to be difficult.

I do believe that what may have changed -- and this is what we

have to test -- is a growing realization on the part of the

Palestinians that Israel is not going anywhere and is a fact,

a reality that has to be dealt with;

and a recognition on the part of the Israelis that their

long-term security interests require finding an accommodation

with the Palestinians and ultimately with their Arab

neighbors. So the interests on both sides are towards peace.

Now, one of the things that you discover in studying history and

being a part of politics is just because something makes sense

doesn't mean it happens.