46th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas: John Kerry on Regional Economic Opportunity

Washington, DC, May 5, 2016—“The best way to nurture prosperity and economic opportunity for all is to extend the benefits of free and open trade and investment across the entire hemisphere,” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday at a reception marking the closing of the 46th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas, an event co-organized by the Council of the Americas (COA) and the U.S. Department of State, and the opening of the U.S.-Caribbean-Central American Energy Summit. Delivering remarks before an audience of private-sector leaders and public-sector representatives from across the region, Secretary Kerry hailed progress made by Latin America and the Caribbean in recent years to become “more democratic, more peaceful, and more prosperous.” Trade expansion has brought great momentum to the region, he said, highlighting the need for governments to support entrepreneurship and innovation as engines of growth.  Secretary Kerry also commented on the importance of the anti-corruption trend sweeping the region. “Corruption as a whole robs the future of a country. It steals not just money from citizens; it steals their trust in government,” he said. “The good news is that more and more citizens all around the world are saying no más to that—not anymore, none—and they’re stopping it, and they’re working to increase openness, to increase accountability and hold leaders to a higher standard.”

Conference attendees also heard from then-U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson, who was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador to Mexico today, on the benefits of regional integration. “North American cooperation has long been a special interest of mine and something that I hope to continue. And that’s because Canada and Mexico are partners,” said Jacobson. “We’re North American trade partners, security partners, energy partners, partners on climate change, and of course partners of the Trans-Pacific partnership.”

The 46th Washington Conference on the Americas gathered a diverse group of top U.S. and hemispheric officials, including President of Panama Juan Carlos Varela, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, and U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Nathan Sheets.

In his remarks, President Varela highlighted the maturity of Panama’s democracy and the vitality of its economy, which grew at 6.2 percent in 2015 with an unemployment rate below 4 percent. “We have become the hub of the Americas, which facilitates communication and connectivity between our continent and the rest of the world,” said President Varela, emphasizing the importance of protecting Panama’s financial sector so that it cannot be used for illegal activities. “This has been a top priority for me since I entered into public life, and our country’s commitment to the financial transparency and security of Panama´s entire logistic and service platform becomes stronger every day.”

In a moderated interview, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker covered a range of issues, from the role of the Trans-Pacific Partnership laying the groundwork for future economic growth, to the importance of offering the U.S. workforce the right skills and opportunities to fully benefit from globalization. “Trade is imperative. We can’t build a fence around our country,” said Secretary Pritzker. She also lauded the U.S.-Cuba rapprochement as positive. “The Cuban people have absolutely embraced this engagement,” she said.

U.S. Under Secretary of the Treasury Nathan Sheets highlighted the improved quality of macroeconomic policies and financial sector supervision put in place across much of the region over the past 20 years.  He noted that many well-managed countries, for example in the Pacific Alliance, have coped well with recent terms of trade shocks.  But he cautioned that “there’s more work to be done on structural issues,” and acknowledged that many of the countries in the region cannot expect that exports alone will lead toward higher growth.

Other speakers at the 46^th Washington Conference on the Americas included Colombian Minister of Defense Luis Carlos Villegas, Mexican Under Secretary of Finance and Public Credit Fernando Aportela, Ambassador of Argentina to the U.S. Martín Lousteau, Pan American Health Organization Director Carissa F. Etienne, World Bank Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Americas Society/Council of the Americas Chairman Andrés Gluski, Americas Society/Council of the Americas President and CEO Susan Segal, and Americas Society/Council of the Americas Vice President Eric Farnsworth.

For more information, please contact Adriana La Rotta and Kariela Almonte | mediarelations@as-coa.org | (212) 277-8333 | (212) 277-8384.

To get conference materials, summaries, multimedia, and more, visit: as-coa.org/2016WCA