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Experts and Leaders Gather at the OAS, Call for the Sixth Summit of the Americas to be "pragmatic, with measurable outcomes and to reflect the reality of the region."

Experts and leaders of the hemisphere gathered at the XXXI Policy Roundtable of the Organization of American States (OAS), where they advocated today for the VI Summit of the Americas to be a pragmatic meeting, with measurable results that reflect the realities and needs of the region’s countries.

The Coordinator of the VI Summit of the Americas, to be held in Cartagena, Colombia, in April 2012 and Chair of the Summits Implementation Review Group (SIRG), Jaime Giron, presented a review of the main issues that have been addressed in the six prior summits held since 1994. He said the U.S. initiative to convene leaders of the hemisphere at a summit has created an "important space to discuss, at the highest political level, the issues that truly matter to people."

Ambassador Giron noted that, although the results of the summits (five ordinary and one extraordinary) are important, they are unfortunately rarely appreciated as such. He recalled that the Inter-American Democratic Charter, ratified in Lima in September 2001, was an idea born at the Third Summit of the Americas in Quebec in 2001. "Today, 10 years later we see that the Charter has become a reality and that the countries of the Americas continue to invoke it as a safeguard for their democratic spirit," he recalled.

After recognizing the challenge that the organization of the Summit poses for Colombia, especially while in the midst of their own difficulties and an economic crisis, the Coordinator noted that there are reasons to be optimistic given statistics that indicate "this could be the decade of the Americas." ”The Americas have everything that the world is demanding at this moment," he said, citing as examples natural resources, raw materials, ability to produce food in high demand by many parts of the world, as well as having a "young and skilled labor pool and a large growing middle class capable of changing patterns of production and consumption."

Ambassador Girón also discussed democratic stability, sound economic growth, and diversity among nations as strengths unique to the Americas. "It's time to make decisions and that the Americas begin to think big and act big. This means that the continent needs to be integrated in every way possible," said the Colombian government official, who also emphasized promoting cooperation and infrastructure "that will enhance the Continent's strengths and position it as a leading international player and stakeholder in global negotiations."

The Director of the International Organizations Law and Diplomacy Program of American University, and former Ambassador of Chile to the United Nations in Geneva and the OAS, Carlos Portales, said that the VI Summit will take place within a different international context, "in a more interdependent world, and in a hemisphere that still has common problems." In that regard, he noted the opportunities for cooperation in areas such as infrastructure, energy, productivity, equal opportunity, migration, and scientific research, among others

Portales recognized the leadership of the Colombian Government hosting the Summit and recommended that the Cartagena Summit not only focus on discussions of documents, “but on certain key ideas,” an objective achieved through prior consultations and dialogue at the highest level in the months leading up to the meeting. “During the evolution process of the Summit you need to reenergize the role of the Presidents through a consultative process," he concluded.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, and former National Summit Coordinator, John F. Maisto, cited some of the most outstanding achievements and commitments of the past Summits and suggested the next summit be more pragmatic, measurable, and more results based in terms of commitments made. In this regard, he encouraged governments to focus on the four areas proposed by the Government of Colombia- poverty and inequality, citizen security, natural disasters, and access to technology- and on the Summit’s main theme: "Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity."

Ambassador Maisto advocated giving a more active role to the institutions of the Joint Summit Working Group, made up of twelve international institutions, stating “what they have in common is that they bring resources and experience to the table for the commitments to be achieved.” He added that the preparatory process should also include the private sector and civil society: “In order to be inclusive, the countries have to reach out in a way that social actors feel that they are part of the process and that they have been heard.”

In closing, the U.S. diplomat recalled that the main reason summits are important is for all the leaders to get together and to set directions and objectives and he highlighted the importance of providing such an opportunity as part of the agenda for the 2012 meeting.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-839/11