Washington — Financing in times of economic crisis, energy and the environment are among the topics to be discussed at the third annual Americas Competitiveness Forum (ACF) scheduled for September 27–29 in Santiago, Chile.

Government officials, business leaders and scholars from 34 Western Hemisphere countries will participate in panels and meetings on these issues.

“The Americas Competitiveness Forum is simply a great opportunity to exchange ideas, to establish links, and to expand alliances that will make our country and our hemisphere stronger and more prosperous,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who will be the top U.S. official at the forum.

The forum is the only venue in the hemisphere that brings together various groups —government, business, academic and international organizations — to create a vision and agenda for improving economic competitiveness in the region.

It also gives business representatives a venue to learn about business, investment and trade opportunities in the Americas.

Locke said that at the forum he plans to stress the “positive impact open markets have on job creation and growth, the delivery of transformative ideas and technology, and the spread of democracy and freedom.”

He called the forum “a unique event, a hallmark of our economic and commercial engagement with the hemisphere.”

U.S. Commerce Department officials said the two previous ACF meetings boosted Western Hemisphere economic cooperation and fostered an increased recognition of the importance of free markets.

They said this collaboration is marked by increased high-level participation of government and business leaders in the forum.

Forum delegates will discuss ways to encourage innovation, create jobs and expand trade among countries in the hemisphere.

These annual sessions also seek the “best practices” to make the nations of the Americas more globally competitive and improve the living standards of their citizens.

The president of the American Council on Competitiveness, Deborah Wince-Smith, said the first two forums established a “very important network” of government, business and private-sector leaders, along with scholars and policy organizations.

“Knowledge sharing has been the greatest accomplishment” of the ACF, she said. “While individual countries have their strategies to compete, prosper and develop new markets, we still need to cooperate.”

She said she hopes the Santiago Forum will produce a “much stronger declaration” on the importance of trade and investment and “creating the conditions for innovation” in the hemisphere.

“We need to optimize our investment, trade and tax policies,” she said, or the Americas will be left behind the rest of the world in economic development. “The rest of the world is moving, and we need to move too.”

Wince-Smith wants to see from the forum a renewed commitment to foster integration of supply chains for the production of products in the Americas. The Americas need to do “high value” work in production of goods and services, Wince-Smith said, or those activities will move to other parts of the world.

The American Council on Competitiveness is a private, nonpartisan organization founded in 1986. It has worked with groups in other countries in the hemisphere to establish their own national competitiveness organizations.

Wince-Smith said she is excited by the sharing of what is practical among the competitiveness councils in the Americas.” The forum is a “great venue to solidify the network of councils.”

Among the confirmed speakers are three presidents: Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Álvaro Colom of Guatemala and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil. Also addressing the forum will be José Miguel Insulza, secretary-general of the Organization of American States.

Other attendees include 18 ministers of economy and development and 14 representatives of competitiveness boards in the hemisphere.

Many countries in the Americas have private or government-led organizations to work on a national competitiveness strategy.

U.S. officials believe that these boards will establish a formal network of councils in the region. They see it as an important step to enhance the ability of the councils to encourage competitiveness.

In the forum’s final speech, the president of Brazil will analyze the role of competitiveness in Brazilian politics.

Hugo Lavados, Chile’s minister of economy, promotion and reconstruction, said that it is “crucial to discuss what platforms allow countries to truly increase their productivity.”

Discussing the value of the Santiago meeting, he said that it is important to develop “a culture of entrepreneurship in each country.”

The minister stressed that the important economic issues to be discussed at the forum “will remain on the top of our competitiveness agenda beyond the current global financial crisis.”

More information on the forum can be found on its Web site.