English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama and President Michelle Bachelet of Chile.webm

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The President:
Well, I want to thank President Bachelet for

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taking the time to
visit with me today.

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We had a chance to get to know
each other at the Summit of the

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Americas, and we've spoken
on the phone repeatedly.

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I find her one of the most
compelling leaders that we have,

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not just in the hemisphere
but around the world.

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I congratulate her and her
entire team for managing the

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Chilean economy and the
political process in Chile in

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such a excellent fashion, and I
think she's doing an outstanding job.

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Obviously the friendship between
the United States and Chile is strong.

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We have very strong
commercial ties,

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in part because of the free
trade agreement that exists

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between Chile and
the United States.

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One of the things that we've
discussed here is how we can

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continually deepen
that relationship.

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So we are announcing cooperative
projects on clean energy.

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There is enormous interest both
in the United States and in

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Chile in how we can develop
solar power and wind power and

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biofuels and a whole host of
other clean energy strategies

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that will make the people of
both countries more prosperous

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and less dependent on
imported energy needs.

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So we are going to be starting a
cooperative project in Chile on this issue.

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In addition, we think that there
is tremendous possibilities for

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cooperation on science
and technology,

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so a specific project that we've
discussed is a cancer research

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center that can help us make
progress on that deadly disease.

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More broadly, I look to
President Bachelet for good

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advice and good counsel in terms
of how the United States can

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continue to build a strong
relationship with all of Latin America.

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And I think the good progress
that we began to make at the

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Summit of the Americas can be
built on with some very concrete

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steps in the months
and years to come.

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We consider Chile to be one of
our most important partners in that process.

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And so I expect that in the
months to come we'll be working

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very closely together.

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The last point I would make
is -- and I mentioned this,

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actually, at my press
conference with the White House

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correspondents -- I think Chile
is to be congratulated on having

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managed their economy and their
fiscal surpluses during good

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times in such a way that they
have now been able to manage the

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bad times in a good way.

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And I think that it's an example
for all of us that good fiscal

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policy, good economic policy,
ultimately allows for prosperity

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through good times
and bad times.

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And I think that as we move
forward in some of the global

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discussions around how to
respond to the deep recession

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that the world is going through,
that we look to countries like

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Chile to underscore the fact
that no matter how big or small

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the country is, good economic
policies can help grow the

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economy throughout the world.

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So we're very grateful
to you for your visit,

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we're glad that you're going to
be here for a couple of days,

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and I look forward to returning
the favor by visiting Chile sometime soon.

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President Bachelet:
Thank you very much,
President Obama.

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As you say, we have had a
wonderful conversation and it is

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because we feel that we are
so close to the way President

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Obama's administration is
understanding the world,

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its challenges, and how to build
relations with (inaudible) of

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the countries of Latin America.

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Of course, he is an
idol in our country.

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I mean, everybody was so
enthusiastic about this meeting.

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And that is because
of real reasons,

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because we understand that the
way you are developing your

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leadership is one who inspire
us and makes us feel very

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comfortable and
very confident, too.

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And we have congratulated
President Obama because of all

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its foreign policy, all of its
efforts to not only nationally

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but also internationally have a
good response to the economic crisis.

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We have been exchanging points
of view on how we can also be

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part of the solution in the
Latin American region to cope,

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to respond to this
economic crisis,

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how to assure that the countries
of Latin America can have the

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capitals, the flows of capital
that they need in order to

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recover the economy, and be
able to tackle challenges like

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poverty, like health problems,
and educational problems,

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and so on.

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Of course, he already mentioned
that we have been signing today,

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earlier today, this cooperation
through energy and we are really

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enthusiastic about clean energy
as we share the idea that the

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crisis should be responded --
also trying to tackle with

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climate change issues.

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And clean energy will be a
very important, I would say,

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a support in this direction.

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Chile has great conditions for
solar energy and some others,

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so we are really enthusiastic
about these common efforts.

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We will continue also with
other initiatives like

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Chile-California plan, like
equal opportunities plan where

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lots of Chileans have come to
the United States to make master

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degrees, postgraduate studies to
help with Chile's development.

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And also, Chile is willing to
be a very good partner of the

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United States in this
cooperation within the region so

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we can have a closer relation
with the United States and all

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the Latin American countries.

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We're also are working
on health in cancer,

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but also we have been working
with the people -- with the CDC

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regarding the human flu, and I
think it will be very important

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also for the United States,
because when -- in autumn,

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there will be another probably
-- another wave of the human flu.

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Whatever is learned from
Chile, we have good diagnostic

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capacities, good registration
capacity will be upheld for

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future treatments here
in the United States,

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for vaccine use and so on.

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The President:
And since the President is a doctor,

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you can take her word for
it, that's very helpful.

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All right, guys.

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Thank you, guys.

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Thank you very much.

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The Press:
Just two questions,
Mr. President.

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Mr. Finkenbider:
Thank you, this way --

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The President:
Actually, Ben, I'm going to make an exception.

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We'll get one question
from the Chilean press.

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How's that?

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The Press:
Mr. President, yes,
I'd like to ask you,

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I realize that your
agenda is moving forward.

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But I'd like to ask you,
President Bachelet in a previous

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trip to the United States made
echo of an old joke: "There's

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never been a coup d'ĂŠtat
in the United States,

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because there's no
American embassy."

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The point being that almost --

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President Bachelet:
That was a joke from an American guy.

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(laughter)

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I just said
it was a good joke.

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The President:
Yes, it is.

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(laughter)

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The Press:
The point being that almost no
Latin American nation has been

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free from CIA -- bloody
CIA intervention,

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Chile being a prime example,
President Bachelet being one of its victims.

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Is it time for a
historical apology?

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The President:
Well, look, I think you answered your own

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question right at the beginning,
which is I'm interested in going

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forward, not looking backward.

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I think that the United States
has been an enormous force for

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good in the world.

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I think there have been times
where we've made mistakes.

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But I think that what is
important is looking at what our

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policies are today, and what my
administration intends to do in

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cooperating with the region.

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And I was very clear in Trinidad
and Tobago at the Summit of the

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Americas that we are interested
in a partnership in which we are

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focused on, how can we improve
the day-to-day living standards

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of ordinary people?

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And that that focus on human
development is one that

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transcends boundaries,
should transcend ideologies.

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I don't have a litmus test
in terms of, you know,

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whether a government is
center-right, center-left,

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this or that.

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My approach is if the United
States is working together with

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a country to promote the
well-being, the health,

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the education, the economic
opportunities of people in both

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countries, then we're going
to have a good relationship.

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And I'm confident that we are
moving in that direction and I

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think that Chile is going to be
an excellent partner in that process.

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As President Bachelet
mentioned -- you know,

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I think this -- the flu
situation is a good example of

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what the 21st century
is going to look like.

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There are no borders on the flu.

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This is not an American problem
or a Mexican program or a

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Chilean problem; this
is a world problem.

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And given that the flu season is
happening now in the southern

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hemisphere, if we get good
information and we're both

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assisting countries in
the southern hemisphere,

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but also learning from the
data that is being generated,

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that will then help the
people of the United States.

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And it's a good
metaphor, I think,

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for a whole range of issues --
from climate change to poverty

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to terrorism --
whatever the issue,

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so many of these issues
now cross borders.

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We can't look at them in
isolation, and that, I think,

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is going to be the basis for a
strong working relationship in the future.

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So, thank you.