President to meet with many world leaders

PRESIDENT'S SCHEDULE FOR EUROPEAN VISIT, G8 SUMMIT

President Bush will engage in close consultations with world leaders as he prepares for the upcoming G8 summit, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice told reporters June 1.

President Bush will host the G8 summit June 8-10 at Sea Island, Georgia. The G8 nations are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The European Union also attends the G8 Summit, represented by the president of the European Commission. The leaders of the G8 nations will discuss a wide range of international economic, political, and security issues.

Following is the president's schedule for June 2-6 and his schedule for the G8 summit:

Wednesday, June 2: President Bush will deliver remarks at graduation ceremonies at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Thursday, June 3: The president and Prime Minister John Howard of Australia meet at the White House, then hold a joint press availability in the Rose Garden. In the evening, the president and Mrs. Bush will depart for Rome.

Friday, June 4: The president will meet with Italian President Carlo Ciampi. Mrs. Bush will then join the president to call upon His Holiness Pope John Paul II, following which the president and Mrs. Bush will lay a wreath at the Fasse Ardetina memorial. Friday evening, the president and Mrs. Bush will join Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for dinner.

Saturday, June 5: The president will meet with Prime Minister Berlusconi. The president and Mrs. Bush will depart for Paris, where the president will meet with President Jacques Chirac of France, followed by a joint press availability and working dinner.

Sunday, June 6: The president and Mrs. Bush will travel to Normandy, France, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. They will visit and pay their respects at the American cemetery, where the president will also deliver remarks. The president and Mrs. Bush will then participate with other world leaders in a multinational lunch and ceremony. At the conclusion of that ceremony, the president and Mrs. Bush will depart for Sea Island, Georgia, where they will host the 2004 G8 summit.

Tuesday, June 8: The president will host a working lunch with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan, followed by a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. The president will also host bilateral meetings with Germany's Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the evening, the president and Mrs. Bush will host a social dinner for G8 leaders and spouses.

Wednesday, June 9: The president will begin his morning with a working breakfast with Great Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair and will open the G8 summit with a morning plenary session. During lunch, the G8 leaders will be joined by the leaders of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey and Yemen. The afternoon will include a plenary session on the pre-eminent security issues of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation and global terrorism.

Thursday, June 10: The president will meet with Prime Minister Berlusconi and then with President Chirac. Following the bilateral meetings, the president will participate in a wrap-up session of the G8. The G8 leaders will then have lunch with the leaders of Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda. This lunch is an opportunity for the G8 and African leaders to discuss how they can cooperate to accelerate private-sector-led growth and development in Africa. HIV/AIDS and polio will also be discussed, as well as peacekeeping and support for peace operations on the continent.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)