 after degrees railing of the ICFU office in Geneva. Rick Jackson, and the Canadian Labour Congress. Friend Luisa Anderson of the Intermarking Regional Organization. Thank you very much. President of the ICFU, Pippin Ryan. Hello there. Nice to see you. Brother Juan Del Pino, the president of the CTV of Venezuela. Well, pleased to see you. Charlie Clark, president of the Canadian Labour Congress. I'm George Reigny, NIC Director of the CIS of the Middle East. Franco Moreni, president of the CIS of the Middle East. Gopeshwa, president of the IMTUC of India. I'm going to be seated. I'm going to talk and smile for a few minutes, while a couple of waves of press Mr. President, did you mean to suggest yesterday the people who oppose your policy of Central America are advocates of surrender? I'm going to take a question here, and I thought everything I said was crystal clear. What about what Marlon said? He said they're advocates of surrender. You would want to dispute Marlon. Well, I'm happy to welcome the members of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions here at the White House. Lane Kirkland is a good friend, but I haven't had a chance to talk to other free world labor leaders as often as I would have liked. I have a great respect for it, but confederations work. Your support for democratic institutions is invaluable in promoting free labor movements. I believe I'm the only chief of state, certainly in this country who served as president of a free labor union. I was interested to learn that you met Secretary Gorbachev. I have spent a little time with him lately. He undoubtedly told you about his Perestroika policy and how it might make life better for Soviet workers, and I certainly hope it does, because hard-working Soviet people deserve many more rewards than they've been granted over the years. Perestroika has been going on successfully in this country since 1776. The reason for that success is free people working in a free environment and a free and knowledgeable economy with unlimited opportunities for growth. We're presently in the new phase of the industrial revolution, the age of information. It's no coincidence that this burst of innovation originated in free nations where ideas flow freely. Communist systems face a difficult choice. If they permit conditions that liberate information technology, they risk challenges to their power monopoly. Yet if they resist such modernization, they will fall farther and farther behind. Despite the economic turbulence of 1987 and some gloomy predictions, I believe the world economic outlook for 1988 is good. GNP growth for the advanced market economy should average about 2.5 percent, with 3 percent growth or higher in Japan. Non-OPEC developing countries should average 3 to 4 percent growth. The unexpectedly strong U.S. economy in the second half of 87 helps to maintain our outlook at a 2 to 3 percent gross natural product in 1988. And unemployment is now at the lowest level since 1979 and should continue to fall. There are new opportunities between East and West for greater stability and peace, but we must continue to be firm and realistic. Gorbachev wants his country to join the ranks of the advanced industrialized nations. But slogans and administrative reforms have to be accompanied by real political and social reforms as well. It's difficult to see full acceptance of the Soviet Union and the international community of free nations, as long as they represent repression as Old Man de Broglie. Alexander Sakharov maintains peace, freedom, and international security are irrevocably intertwined. They cannot exist independently of one another. We will not stop urging the Soviets to respect fundamental human rights, those of their own people, or of those people whose Soviet troops are their surrogates are oppressive. Soviets call it new thinking, but whatever it is, they've come around to arms reduction proposals. I made it the first years of our administration, and we're happy about the INF Treaty. It's a good treaty, but we view it as a first step. We're looking forward to deep reductions in strategic nuclear forces, and I hope by the time I see Mr. Gorbachev again that we'll be able to sign an agreement for a 50% reduction in these forces. Deep cuts in strategic nuclear actions are now at our number one arms reduction priority. We're optimistic about progress here, but we aren't going to let deadlines rush into faulty agreements. And now let me turn to Secretary General Bader Kevan, who I understand has a statement, and I would also then get to a general discussion. Thank you, Mr. President. You have the ICF-2 delegation and the ICF-2 executive. President, may I introduce Mayor Dick Berkley and his wife, Sandy Berkley? Very nice to see you again, Mr. President. We're honored to be here. Sandy, I think that it would be great to have you stand between us when we turn around. Again? Well, congratulations. Well, thank you. It's a real privilege, particularly this important time when we're honored to be in that position. Have a chance to appreciate women's great work and keep us informed in being a channel of communication. I can twist this on for a little bit now. I hope that we can have your support for a few things going on up there when I'm leading to the Contras and the INF Treaty ratification and getting Mr. Kennedy into the Supreme Court. Right, those are all three. Three-five, important ones, right? I would like to present to you our National Urban Investment Policy if I may. I was adopted by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. I'm familiar with it. Thank you very much. Yes. But we wish you the best. We look forward to being at the convention in New Orleans. Mike, I thought you were fine. Well, the important one was when we got you in. That was in in Detroit. And I remember that when we were there. And I think we ought to thank you for keeping a little remember about the inflation. They ought to be thanking you. Well, the strength of the economy has really been extremely important. It's very important. I was just looking at some figures over here. There was only 13.6 million new jobs. I think it's about 14 million new jobs now. I listened to some of these Democratic presidential candidates before, which is increased in the top level, the bulk of the job, 90% of the full-time. And then the bulk of the part and $10 an hour end up. That figure. The reduction of inflation, interest rates, everything else. Keep us going for 59 months and keep going further. We're very honored to have a chance to visit. We appreciate it. Thank you. And to have you where you are. Well, thank you. Nice to see you again. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. This is Tom McMillan, official online foundation. Sorry, I had the dinner for some time. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Yes, it was good to see you again. Thank you. Thank you very much. Good to see you. I have a grandfather's 93th task force. Well, Mr. President, it takes a minute. Well, nice to see you. We're going to have everybody come around for a group photo. If we can have half of you on the left side and half on the right side. We'll move over here. Yes. If you can turn a little sideways. This is Mr. Bees right there. Yes. He knows you're from Des Moines. He's from Des Moines. It may feel funny, but it looks bad. This is just one more. Yes, we just want one more. Mr. Bees, Mr. President. Would this be a time to tell a joke about the fellow in California that he's been working with for a long time? Yes. A fellow in California that took a friend of his a new friend to his duck club for honey. All of a sudden, the duck were in the blind swimming across, and his friend raised his shotgun. He said, you're not going to shoot him while he's swimming. He says, no, I'm going to wait until he stops. This is one of Mr. Bees' books. So, Chief, I wanted to give you Mr. President, and while I'm part of this, I've been noticing every major collection in the United States in the world, and as I say, he's just a hail from the United States. The first time I saw you, I was 16 years old, walked into the WHO studio and there was a glass wall on there, and you were sitting down in the newsroom with your feet on the desk with a pipe in your hand. This is me. Well, this is just beautiful. Thank you very much. This print will be marked in the United States of Canada for wildlife habitat, and he's donated for him. We're just busting for him. Oh, I know what it has meant to the whole cause. Well, it takes everybody to help, and you certainly are doing a great job. Well, listen, you're doing one also. Well, then all of you are. Thank you. I appreciate all that you're doing. You're welcome.