My fellow
Americans, this weekend,
I begin my first trip
overseas as President.

A trip with historic
significance
for the American people.

I will be visiting with
the leaders in many
different countries
to strengthen our old
friendships, build new
partnerships, and unite
the civilized world in a
fight against terrorism.

In that spirit of unity,
I will travel to lands
associated with three
of the world's great religions.

My first stop will be
Saudi Arabia, the heart
of the Muslim world.

There, I will address a
historic gathering
of the leaders of more than
fifty Muslim nations.

I will represent the views
of the American people,
frankly and clearly.

Many of these leaders have
expressed growing concern
about terrorism, the
spread of radicalization,
and Iran's role
in funding both.

Now, it appears Muslim
leaders are ready to take
more responsibility and
a much bigger role
in fighting terrorism
in their region.

It's about time we do it;
we'll do it together,
but it has to be done.

America cannot solve all
of the world's problems,
but we can and we must
help any nation willing
to join in the common cause
of eradicating terrorism
from the face
of the earth.

Next, I'll travel to the
ancient city of Jerusalem
to talk with my good
friend, Prime Minister
Netanyahu, about bringing
peace and prosperity
to both our nations.

Israel is an important
American ally, but in
recent years, we haven't
always treated them that way.

It's time to renew
our friendship.

While I'm there, I'll also
meet with President Abbas
of the Palestinian
authority in Bethlehem
to discuss ways to advance
peace between Israel
and the Palestinians.

From there, I'll head to
the Vatican where I will
have the great honor of
an audience with Pope Francis.

I look forward to speaking
with the Pope about
how Christian teachings can
help put the world
on a path to justice,
freedom, and peace.

I will also meet with
friends and allies in
Europe at a gathering of
NATO in Brussels
and at the G seven summit in Italy.

Finally, I will close my
trip by saying thank you
to some of the courageous
men and women
of the United States military,
serving their nation overseas.

In my inaugural address,
I pledged to strengthen
America's oldest
friendships, to seek
new partners in pursuit of
peace, and above all,
to always put American
people first.

I also pledged that our
partners must show
that they're partners.

They must show that
they're friends,
and they must contribute
financially
to the tremendous costs -- the
money that we're spending
is so big.

It's so much, and it's
not fair for our nation.

They have to help, and
I'm sure they will.

The fact is, I' very
excited about new
possibilities for peace
and prosperity,
and I hope you are too.

Thank you, God bless you,
and God bless America.