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COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS REPORT OFFER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL SUMMIT

“As leaders prepare to gather at the next Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April 2009, they will be faced with the challenge of how to recharge a hemispheric growth agenda within the reality of global economic turbulence”. With this in mind, the Americas Society/Council of the Americas prepared the report “Building the Hemispheric Growth Agenda: A New Framework for Policy”, that was presented this morning to the Organization of American States (OAS) ambassadors and high level officials.

In welcoming the presentation, OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, stressed the timeliness of the report, as it contains a series of policy recommendations to be considered in the framework of the upcoming presidential gathering. “The Summit was initially intended to be a political Summit addressing some very important issues, including prosperity, global warming, energy and security. But it is daily becoming more of an economic Summit. In that sense, we should welcome reports that stress the importance of the hemispheric growth agenda and that provide new perspectives and ideas on how to deal with those issues.”

Eric Farnsworth, Vice President of the Council of the Americas, explained the recommendations contained in the report and suggested ways for them to be implemented. “We think that the Summit of the Americas is a wonderful opportunity to really set a new agenda for the Americas, a common agenda based on cooperation and focused on actually getting things done” he said.

He continued, “this is a unique moment in time; it’s a narrow window with the financial meltdown, so the Summit becomes a very important opportunity to start the conversation that will bring the hemisphere around an agenda that is supportive of the aspirations of the people of the Americas.”

Coinciding with the Secretary General’s perspective, Farnsworth affirmed that “the topic of priority in the Summit has to be hemispheric financial recovery, this is what our people are looking for, and this is what our leaders are being held to account for.”

Trade was also underscored as one of the main issues of the report. According to the authors “despite the hemispheric currents that hinder forward momentum, trade remains one of the most effective tools available to build and support economic development and growth with equity.” Farnsworth summarized by saying that “the Summit can make a very strong unanimous statement in support of open trade”.

The Council of the Americas report that was presented in the OAS details specific ways to reignite trade and integration within the Americas, even during troubled economic times. It also presents a series of recommendations on issues such as trade policy, energy security, climate change and microeconomic reforms.

Reference: E-090/09