Opening remarks by Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs Thomas A. Shannon, Jr. at the Council of the Americas’ 39th annual Washington Conference on the Americas, May 13, 2009. [FULL TEXT]

Washington — President Obama wants the United States to build a new cooperative approach to relations with other Western Hemisphere nations that is supported by the twin pillars of democratic governance and inclusive prosperity, says Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg.

“Informed by our past experiences, President Obama and Secretary [of State Hillary Rodham] Clinton are setting out to build a new approach of broad hemispheric cooperation designed to benefit all of our citizens in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean, from the more developed to most hard-pressed,” Steinberg said May 13 at the 39th annual Washington Conference on the Americas, held at the State Department.

“As we look at the Western Hemisphere today, we see a landscape transformed from the past, but one that has still not achieved its full potential.”

Since taking office in January, Obama has traveled to Canada and Mexico and attended the 5th Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to listen to neighbors and partners, Steinberg said. He also met privately at the White House with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before the G20 Financial Summit held in early April in London, both to talk about the upcoming summit and to talk about the Summit of the Americas that was held later in April.

Vice President Biden traveled to Chile in March to participate in the Progressive Governance Conference and also met with Central American leaders, and Clinton visited Mexico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic to discuss the U.S. desire for improved relations in this hemisphere, he said. This shows that, from the start, the Obama administration has been trying to achieve a more cooperative and progressive relationship.

The Washington Conference on the Americas took its theme from the Summit of the Americas on renewing the promise of prosperity. The conference expanded talks on stimulating economic growth as nations grapple with the current economic crisis.

“As President Obama and Secretary Clinton have made clear, our partnership is based on a genuine willingness to listen and learn from our neighbors,” Steinberg said. “We recognize that we don’t have the answer to every problem, and that past approaches and formulas have not always worked.”

Steinberg said that in advancing democracy in the hemisphere, the United States seeks a new beginning with Cuba, which has the lone nondemocratically elected government. Considerable discussion at the Summit of the Americas and in the Organization of American States has centered on reinstating Cuba’s membership in the OAS, though the United States has said Cuban leaders must move toward greater freedoms and human rights for their people.

“We’ve changed our policy in ways that we believe will advance liberty and create opportunities for the Cuban people,” Steinberg said. “We now allow Cuban Americans to visit the island more freely and provide resources to their families there.”

“The president has also made clear our willingness and our readiness to engage constructively with the Cuban government on a wide range of issues.”

At the same time the president asks hemispheric friends to call for and support liberty, equality and human rights for the Cuban people, Steinberg said.

Earlier in the conference, Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Shannon praised the nations of the hemisphere for their willingness to cooperate on the significant challenges facing everyone at the Summit of the Americas.

Shannon is stepping down as assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. The president has nominated Arturo Valenzuela, a professor of government at Georgetown University in Washington, to be the next assistant secretary for the region.

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