The accomplishments of the Western Hemisphere
over the last twenty-five years -- democracy, open markets
and personal freedom – present critical lessons for
the rest of the world. The transformational choices that
Latin American countries have made show that difficult,
but necessary, societal changes can be made peacefully and
effectively. This important hemispheric transformation has
created greater opportunities for our neighbors today and
a brighter future for their children tomorrow.
As President Bush and Secretary Rice travel
to Mar del Plata, Argentina to participate in the fourth
Summit of the Americas, they come with a two-fold agenda.
First, they will work with their fellow leaders to expand
opportunity and improve the lives of all our citizens. Second,
they will herald the hemisphere’s success story of
building democracies and expanding economic opportunity
as a model for other regions grappling with these challenges.
These Summits are important because they
provide opportunities for our leaders to come together to
solve problems. For example, leaders at the last Summit
set a goal of treating with retroviral therapy by 2005 over
600,000 people in the region living with HIV/AIDS. With
strong support from President Bush, this goal has been met
and surpassed: today 640,000 people have benefited from
this particular Summit mandate.
At this fourth Summit, President Bush and
his team will focus on expanding opportunity by creating
more and better jobs, strengthening democracy, and fighting
poverty. Breaking down trade barriers is an essential part
of expanding prosperity and opportunity for all. We have
already implemented NAFTA and the U.S.-Chile Free Trade
Agreement and we hope to implement CAFTA-DR early next year.
We will continue to push for free trade agreements across
the hemisphere.
The U.S. will continue to support reforms
that cut the time and cost of starting a business in the
region. This will promote entrepreneurship and economic
competitiveness. To ensure that hard-earned money gets to
the families that need it, we will continue to work to reduce
the cost of sending remittances. Summit leaders agreed to
create the conditions to reduce, by at least half, the cost
of remittances by 2008. According to the Multilateral Investment
Fund, the costs of sending remittances fell from 12% in
2003 to approximately 8% in 2004.
Our collective security is another issue
President Bush will address at the Summit. September 11
underscored the threat terrorism poses to our open societies.
The United States looks forward to concrete follow up and
implementation of the Declaration on Security in the Americas
adopted in October 2003. The United States will also work
to carry out other commitments made during the Summit process
that provide a practical guide for progress and peace in
the hemisphere.
President Bush and Secretary of State
Rice will join their colleagues across the hemisphere to
continue to promote democracy and deepen prosperity with
open, trade oriented economies. We have made great progress,
but more needs to be done. The Summit offers a golden opportunity
to reaffirm our hemisphere’s commitment to democratic
and economic transformation, and to deliver the benefits
of that transformation to the peoples of the Americas.
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