Baylor Hosts President Bush, Mexican President Fox And Canadian Prime Minister Martin
Baylor University (BU), the world’s largest Baptist university, hosted President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin for the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America conference, on March 23.
Baylor, the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Texas, welcomed the three state leaders who arrived by motorcade to Baylor’s world-renowned Armstrong Browning Library for meetings the leaders said “provide a framework for the next generation of trilateral relations between the North American countries,” according to BU news release.
“It is an honor for Baylor University to host the leaders of the United States, Canada and Mexico,” Baylor President Robert B. Sloan Jr. said.
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“Here at Baylor, we want to teach our students to serve. Baylor today had the opportunity to serve on behalf of our country and the world, and it is a tremendous privilege for Baylor to host this trilateral meeting.”
After the meeting, they departed the library by motorcade and drove through the Baylor campus to the Bill Daniel Student Center for a joint news conference in Barfield Drawing Room.
“It’s my honor to welcome two friends to Baylor University,” the President said. “First, I want to thank the Baylor University family for providing these facilities for us. Your hospitality is awesome.”
“I want to also extend…my gratitude for this wonderful reception, for this wonderful facility here at Baylor University, and of course, my gratitude to the authorities here in Waco, the venue of this important event,” said President Fox.
“It’s a real pleasure to be here in Texas and to stand with President Bush and President Fox as representatives of a strong North America,” Prime Minister Martin said. “We represent three sovereign nations that have formed one of the most successful partnerships in the world.”
The historic meeting concluded with the leaders’ official announcement about the establishment of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. Then they answered the questions from the media on the new agreement as well as the Terri Schiavo case in Florida and Secretary of State Rice's recent visit to Asia.
President Bush, President Fox and Prime Minister Martin then left the student center to Mr. Bush's Crawford ranch, located less than 25 minutes away from the Baylor campus, for a working lunch.
The members of President Bush’s cabinet who attended the meetings included Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr., Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, and Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Hagin.
