Remarks of Welcome at the White House to King Mahendra of Nepal

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highness, Your Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

It has been said that the history of Nepal is the story of her Kings.

Far back in that history, one ruler declared that "this throne of Nepal is a fort." And so the kingdom stood locked for centuries, a remote mountain fastness at the roof of the world.

It was only yesterday that another King unlocked the fortress from within. The gates of Nepal are guarded still-but they are now open to all who come and go in friendship and in peace. Our guest today has come through them in that spirit. We are proud to welcome him as the monarch who has found new keys to his kingdom. With them he has admitted all the world to a treasure house of beauty and wisdom. And he has equally thrown wide the doors of opportunity for all of his people.

It is a new Nepal he sees and seeks to build. We Americans share his vision and we share his hopes. We know it is hard for a nation to be torn from the cocoon of the past--to be catapulted forward, almost overnight, into the 20th century. But we also know, from 15 years of partnership and progress, that the people of Nepal will triumph in their struggle.

They will modernize. They will harness the disruptive forces of change to orderly and constructive purpose. They will develop their social and their economic institutions, so that all may know security and all may find fulfillment in a richer life. They will strengthen the instruments of law and government demanded by the needs of a modern society. They will find stability in the unity that their monarch inspires.

Your Majesty, we are confident that you will turn transition into triumph. Your leadership has already won large blessings for all of your people. We want you and your people to know that your fortunes are our fortunes, that your future is our future-that we are happy to offer you the hand of friendship and the hand of partnership as you continue on with your advance.

That advance does not end at your own borders. Nepal has carried its good influence and example into the great forums of the world. You help all nations to advance by making clear what you cherish most--and
want most to see all men cherish:

--the sovereignty of peoples,
--the independence of states,
--man's right to live at peace,
--man's duty to cooperate for peace.

These principles, Your Majesties, unite our two peoples. They bind our common efforts in the United Nations, in the Asian Development Bank, and in the Colombo Plan. They bridge the vast distance between our lands. They make us brothers instead of strangers.

We are glad of that, Your Majesty. We are grateful to recall that your kingdom is the birthplace of Buddha, the Prince of Peace. His spirit is stronger now. His teachings are more widely felt, because Nepal is no longer a locked fortress. Instead, it is a window through which all the world can look to learn the truth:

"Man's fortress is his faith in man.
He will inherit his kingdom when he
builds it of his trust and governs it with
his heart."

Your Majesty.