Building the Americas Consensus

Thank you very much, Susan. Thank you Bill, Eric, Mr. Rockefeller, Ambassador Landau. All of you, welcome to the Department of State. We're very, very happy to have you here, happy to host again the Washington Conference, the 37^th Annual Washington Conference on the Americas. I'm very happy to have the opportunity to speak with you all.

The theme this year, "Building the Americas Consensus," I believe is particularly fitting for this Conference because it emphasizes the importance of cooperation and dialogue in the region. This is a region which is going through I believe a very dynamic, even and effervescent period. For some looking from the outside, it could even appear to be a troubled moment, but I believe we are in a hopeful moment, in an optimistic moment. Not only in terms of the United States' relationship within the Americas, but also the relationship between all the different countries in the region.

I believe what we're seeing in the region, to a certain extent is, first of all an interest on the part of most countries to develop and strengthen their relationship with the United States and to do the same with each other. And as I noted, there are differences. This does not always mean that other countries agree with us or with each other, or necessarily favor our global actions. I think that with the emergence of new sectors participating in democracies, and with redefinition of national interests, we are going to see a diplomatic movement and behavior that will try to define what these interests are, define how countries can pursue them; but recognize that they have to be done within some kind of structured process that allows countries to cooperate and work together. And to the extent that we can help build those relationships and strengthen those partnerships, we can use diplomatic and political space to foster dialogue, cooperation, and collaboration and really take advantage of challenges that we face, the challenges that democracy faces as catalysts for political, social, and economic development.

I'd like to take a minute and talk about the President's trip to the region in March and use that to make a larger point about our relationship and engagement in the Hemisphere.

Following a year of elections, in 2006, marked by voters voicing their concerns with and expectations of governments, as well as I think by a regional reaffirmation of democratic institutions that are responsive to electorates and working to solve problems and improve lives, the President thought it important to travel to the region, travel within Hemisphere and reach out to our partners in the region. I think it's worth noting that this was the President's eleventh trip in the Americas, three of those trips have been to Canada, and if you subtract those, this makes the March trip his eighth trip to Central and South America in only six years in office - this more than any other U.S. President. From our point of view this demonstrates that our engagement is not something new, and that the president's trip in March was not something new, in fact it's rooted in long-standing and long-lasting relationships.

The President's visit to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala, and Mexico in March underscored our continuing commitment to the region as well as the scope and depth of that commitment. We desire and will endeavor to engage any democratic government, regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum, in real partnership. There is no room for old zero-sum approaches today. We must all succeed, or none of us can. We seek to work with democratically elected governments to ensure that the benefits of democracy extend throughout the Hemisphere.

Secondly, we want to strengthen and build on our relationships in the Hemisphere -- not just at a government-to-government level, but at a people-to-people level, among all individuals whose talents are essential to building secure and prosperous societies. This includes reaching out to historically excluded groups to ensure that our engagement is comprehensive, and representative of the width and breadth and depth of the peoples of the Americas. Again, we saw this during the President's time in the region - whether meeting with street children in Sao Paulo, Afro-Colombians in Colombia, or Mayans in Guatemala, the President's visit was intended to demonstrate the fullness of our commitment to the Americas and the peoples of the Americas.

The President's visit was also an opportunity to remind U.S. citizens of the strategic importance of the Americas. It's in our national interest to help the people and democracies in the Americas succeed. As the President noted, "when our neighbors are prosperous and peaceful, it means better opportunities and more security for our own people." Therefore we are committed to helping our partners meet urgent social needs and ensure that democracy and democratic governments deliver the security, services, and opportunities their people demand.

The elections that took place in 2006 revealed that the peoples of the Americas have a wide variety of concerns about their futures. People throughout the region want to know that economic growth in open markets will lead to prosperity and success, to good jobs and higher standards of living. Across the hemisphere parents are concerned about the prevalence of narcotics and the violence that always accompanies drug-trafficking. There are concerns about corruption - especially the corruption that is linked to narcotics - and about crime and gang violence. Poverty, social justice, and inequality are prominent concerns throughout the hemisphere. Citizens in a democracy have a very reasonable expectation that their elected governments will represent the voice of the people and consequently governments have a responsibility to address these concerns - whether they are economic, political, or social.

These concerns are rooted in the shared values of the peoples throughout our hemisphere. As the President said at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce shortly before his trip, "our two continents are becoming more than neighbors united by the accident of geography. We're becoming a community linked by common values and shared interests…." And it is in recognition of these common values, building on our shared interests, that really marks our engagement in the region. I believe that the convergence of purpose that we see today between the United States and our neighbors in the Western Hemisphere is unprecedented and compelling.

This is a region that has taken great strides toward freedom and prosperity, rising up new democracies and bringing stability to fiscal policies. Yet alongside this progress remain serious challenges in the region's social agenda. We believe it is crucial that these democracies are able to translate these gains in freedom and democracy into tangible, meaningful changes to improve the daily lives of their people. We are committed to this kind of engagement - to helping our neighbors meet basic needs like education, healthcare, and housing, and to maintain economies that make it possible for workers to provide for their families and rise in society.

Trade is an engine of economic growth. Key to economic growth in a market economy is access to international markets, particularly the United States. One of the single most important steps we can take in supporting our neighbors in the region is to approve and implement the free trade agreements pending before the Congress. These agreements will significantly contribute to both economic and social development in the region by creating jobs and reducing poverty. It is also worth recognizing that each of the governments that negotiated these agreements was elected by the people of those countries because of their demonstrated commitment to these agreements and the economic opportunity they represent. We need to understand, appreciate, and respect that context.

I'd like to underscore this point. I just came from a breakfast that President Bush offered President Uribe, and following that breakfast the two presidents went out on the South Lawn to speak to the press. President Bush underscored the importance of the free trade agreements currently before our Congress - Colombia, Peru, and Panama - to the economic and social development of those countries, but also to our strategic interests and to how people in the hemisphere understand and respond to the United States. I'd like to underscore that President Uribe, President Garcia, and President Torrijos were elected on free trade platforms. They were elected because of their commitment to a free trade agreement with the United States. So the negotiations of these free trade agreements were not just negotiations between governments, they represented a commitment by the people of these three countries to a certain kind of relationship with the United States, to a certain kind of understanding about how you create economic development, and to a certain kind of understanding about what a free trade agreement with the United States means for their futures, for their social, economic, and political development. For us to turn our back on these countries at this point would have a chilling affect on the region and have a chilling effect on our bilateral relationships. For us to affirm these agreements would do just the opposite - it would send a clear message of U.S. commitment to the region of U.S. engagement in the region, and not just to countries friendly to us but to peoples on the cusp of significant political, economic, and social accomplishment. From our point of view, it is not just important, it's essential for our broader policy of engagement in the region to approve these free trade agreements.

Our agenda of engagement in the Americas constitutes the space in which we believe dialogue and collaboration will give rise to great opportunity within the Americas, and globally. I view the current climate in the Americas as positive and hopeful. Our hemisphere stands poised to demonstrate the ability of democratic governments to meet the basic needs of their people and to establish growing economies, reconcile and rebuild conflict-ridden regions, and preserve the environment while also meeting critical energy needs of their populations. These are profound lessons for developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, and their successes can offer real hope to people throughout the world.

The President's trip was only the beginning of what we are calling a "year of engagement" - one of intensified U.S. involvement and engagement in the region, marked by ambitious and concrete efforts to advance the hemisphere's democratic agenda, and to demonstrate that democratic institutions are meeting the needs of their people and building a more prosperous and secure Hemisphere. It is also a year when we hope to work with our partners in the region to begin the long process of restoring a free Cuba to its place in the inter-American system.

Our commitment to the Americas underscores our desire to ensure that the benefits of democracy are enjoyed by all of our citizens in their daily lives. The degree to which we are successful in our efforts will act as a source of encouragement for those who are working to confront and overcome these same challenges elsewhere in the world. The degree to which we are unsuccessful will reinforce the belief that only authoritarian governments can handle the tough work of ending poverty and inequality and building vibrant economies. I am of the opinion that the Americas have already demonstrated the power and the potential of democracy. I am also of the opinion that as the United States continues to engage with our partners in the region and to strengthen those relationships, we can establish the diplomatic and political space to foster dialogue, cooperation, and collaboration and to use the challenges we face to deepen political, social, and economic development that will build a more secure and prosperous future for our Hemisphere.

In closing, I just want to underscore first of all, our tremendous pleasure in having you all here today. But also to note that this is a region that will be driven in the near and median term by its social agenda. It is a region that will be driven by governments' ability to address the pressing problems of poverty, inequality, and social exclusion. It is up to us to make sure that democratic governments become democratic states, that they recognize citizenship of their peoples not only in political terms, not only in terms of votes, but also in its economic and social dimension. That people have not only access to economic opportunity, but the capacity to take advantage of that opportunity and become fully functioning members of their own societies and promoters of not only national destinies but individual destinies.

In this regard, I'm struck by the fact that in this very dynamic environment there is enormous space available for diplomacy, there is an enormous space for engagement from all sectors, but especially from the private sector because ultimately the role the private sector needs to play - aside from the traditional role of wealth creation and job creation - is to show clearly that markets can help address, in fact are crucial to addressing the social agenda of the region. And to that I leave to you hard work of building economies. But working with members of government we can help create the space necessary and the cooperation and dialogue necessary to address the social concerns and social agenda of this region.

Again, thank you all very, very much for being here. I look forward to having the opportunity to talk to all of you in the course of the day.