Commonwealth _ The Inaugural Americas Partnership For Economic Prosperity Leaders’ Summit, which concluded on Friday, saw President Joe Biden reaffirming the United States’ commitment to collaborating with its Latin American and Caribbean partners. The summit aimed to promote more inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the Western Hemisphere. The leaders of the United States, Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay issued a declaration outlining their shared vision for a brighter future in the Americas. The leaders’ declaration emphasizes the need for open, fair, inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous societies, underpinned by vibrant economies and democratic governments. They recognize the importance of accelerating inclusive and sustainable trade and investment, addressing the climate crisis, and expanding social and economic opportunities to leave no one behind. Shared values such as democracy, the rule of law, diversity, inclusion, decent work, environmental and social protection, labor rights, universal human rights, and fundamental freedoms are reaffirmed.
The Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity was established with the intention of significantly strengthening economic collaboration. It is envisioned as a lasting regional platform to pursue an ambitious and flexible economic and development agenda. The leaders have identified five cross-cutting priorities to guide their collective work, including:
Strengthening Regional Competitiveness and Integration
Fostering Shared Prosperity and Good Governance
Building Sustainable Infrastructure
Protecting the Climate and Environment
Promoting Healthy Communities
To advance these priorities, the leaders intend to establish a structure for the Americas Partnership and involve ministers who will meet annually to implement specific actions. The Foreign Affairs Track focuses on activities and initiatives to deliver inclusive and sustainable growth and unleash the full potential of their people. Good governance and increased growth are seen as intricately linked, with a focus on broadening the benefits of economic gains. Initiatives to foster inclusive growth, such as establishing a regional accelerator for entrepreneurs and workforce development in the digital economy, are emphasized. Removing barriers to workforce participation for historically underrepresented groups and improving access to essential services like healthcare, clean energy, and food security are also key priorities.
The Trade Track aims to bolster regional competitiveness through inclusive and sustainable trade and investment. Ministers responsible for trade will develop approaches to support sustainable development and resilient supply chains, enhance regulatory environments, and remove trade barriers. The goal is to create formal jobs, promote labor rights, environmental sustainability, and economic inclusion. Enhancing regional integration through the implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation and digitization of customs mechanisms is a key focus. The leaders also stress the importance of ensuring the benefits of trade reach small and medium-sized enterprises and historically underrepresented communities.
The Finance Track plays a central role in the success of the Americas Partnership, focusing on high-standard finance and investment initiatives. Finance and other relevant ministers will work to increase the quality and quantity of financing, with an emphasis on addressing national and cross-border development challenges. This includes evolving multilateral development banks, such as the World Bank Group and the Inter-American Development Bank Group. The leaders commend progress made toward reforming the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group and recapitalizing IDB Invest. They anticipate the IDB Group will promote high-standard, responsible, and sustainable investment that safeguards workers, communities, and the environment. The leaders believe they have the capacity to transform their shared hemisphere by leveraging the diversity, talent, and dynamism of their peoples. They commit to meeting every two years to assess progress and identify additional opportunities to advance their vision for a closer, safer, and more prosperous Americas.
