Speeches

Speaking at the 2008 APEC Road Show event in Washington D.C., Luis Alberto Moreno, Inter-American Development Bank president, invites to take a new look at the trans-pacific region and its potential for successful partnerships and role the IDB plays as a business facilitation platform.

Speaking at AS/COA's 7th Annual Latin America Conference, New York Congressman Joseph Crowley emphasized the importance of trade and investment for boosting U.S. relations with Latin America. "We are finally waking up to the importance of economic and social development in our own neighborhood," said Crowley.

Speaking at the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, COA Vice President Eric Farnsworth argued that trade and investment expansion serve as "the most effective means we have to support growing democracy in Latin America."

Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, speaking at the James A. Baker Institute for Public Policy, discussed the importance of trade to the U.S. economy. He also spoke about free trade in the Americas, saying rejection of a free-trade agreement with Colombia "would be not just a step backwards, but one of the biggest foreign policy mistakes of our time in our region."

At a COA conference, USAID's Assistant Adminstrator for Latin America and the Caribbean Paul Bonicelli discussed the opportunities and challenges for democracy in the region, saying, "democratic development is a non-linear, highly context-dependent endeavor."

Addressing AS/COA members on October 22, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs R. Nicholas Burns discussed White House policy toward Latin America, particularly Bogotá. "The U.S. finds itself at a crucial crossroads in our relations with Colombia," said Burns, emphasizing the need for trade deals with that country, Peru, and Panama. 

At the launch for the second issue of Americas Quarterly, Admiral Jim Stavridis, who directs U.S. Southern Command, discussed his view of the security situation in the western hemisphere.