On February 19, 2014, Prime Minister Stephen Harper will join Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico, and Barack Obama, President of the United States, for the seventh North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) in Toluca, Mexico. This year’s theme is “North American Competitiveness.” The Toluca Summit will build on the deep and strong collaboration between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico over the past several years. Previous summits were held in Washington, D.C. (April 2012), Guadalajara, Mexico (August 2009), New Orleans, Louisiana (April 2008), Montebello, Quebec (August 2007), Cancun, Mexico (March 2006), and Waco, Texas (March 2005). At the last Summit, held in WashingtonD.C., the three leaders announced a broadened plan for North American pandemic preparedness and a new North America-Central America dialogue on security to fight transnational organized crime. They discussed continued cooperation in managing borders, streamlining regulations, securing global supply chains, and advancing clean energy. The leaders also discussed hemispheric issues in the lead up to the Summit of the Americas, which took place later the same month in Colombia. All three North American countries share democratic values, respect for the rule of law, free market economic practices, a common geography, and an environment where security, economic and quality-of-life interests intersect. Cooperation in the North American context is practical and focused on achieving results. 2014 SUMMIT PRIORITIES At the Toluca Summit, the three leaders will focus on economic competitiveness, energy and the environment, defence and security cooperation, and regional and global foreign policy issues. North American Economic Competitiveness In a world characterized by increasing global competition, North American businesses are highly integrated and connected through various value chains with a large amount of trade taking place within different divisions of the same company, as well as between companies. In 1993, before the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was implemented, trilateral trade within the North American region amounted to US$289 billion. In 2012, total trilateral merchandise trade reached almost US$1.1 trillion - nearly a fourfold increase. NAFTA’s 20th anniversary provides an opportunity to build on the Agreement’s success, share results from our respective bilateral work, and explore specific trilateral initiatives. While NAFTA has provided Canada, the U.S. and Mexico with important competitive advantages, there remains many areas where greater coordination could yield significant additional benefits. Even small improvements in areas such as border facilitation and standards and regulatory cooperation have the potential to enhance commercial flows between the three countries. Energy and Environment The continent is a global leader in unconventional oil and gas production. It is estimated that by 2030 North America will be able to meet all of its own oil and natural gas needs. With respect to energy, there are many areas where the three countries have shared interests, including: building and maintaining safe and modern energy infrastructure to sustain the integration of our energy system, as well as to advance North American energy security; developing unconventional oil and gas resources responsibly, ensuring that the potential of these resources may be realized in a way that mitigates environmental impact, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and modernizing energy use and efficiency, which could include harmonized energy efficiency performance standards. Canada, the U.S. and Mexico have a successful history of cooperation on environmental issues. This cooperation includes efforts to safeguard North America’s natural resources and ecosystems, as well as efforts to address the global challenges posed by climate change. The 20th anniversary of NAFTA and the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) provides a timely opportunity to reflect on the successes of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) and build on the work it has accomplished. The CEC is an organization established by the NAAEC to support cooperation among NAFTA partners on addressing environmental issues of continental concern. Minister Aglukkaq is the CEC’s Chair for 2014. In addition, the three North American countries are co-founders of the Climate Change and Clean Air Coalition and are also addressing the challenge of climate change by supporting joint work to advance clean energy technology, through mechanisms such as the U.S.-Canada Clean Energy Dialogue, the Canada-Mexico Partnership and the U.S.-Mexico Bilateral Framework on Clean Energy and Climate Change. Defence and Security In March 2012, Canada hosted the Inaugural Meeting of North American Defence Ministers (NADM). Meetings of the NADM provide an opportunity to discuss continental and regional defence and security challenges, as well as to explore collaboration opportunities in hemispheric defence fora. Since the inaugural meeting, a continental threat assessment has been completed. A trilateral table-top exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster response is being planned for March 2014 in Mexico. Canada, Mexico and the U.S. have committed to deeper security cooperation in Central America. To this end, Canada has been helping to strengthen institutions in the region that safeguard freedom, human rights, democracy and the rule of law through capacity-building programs and diplomatic engagement. Since 2008, it has provided just over $70 million in security assistance to Central America. At the 2012 NALS, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico agreed to establish a North American Security Dialogue with Central America. The U.S. successfully hosted the first meeting of this Dialogue in Washington on April 30, 2013, which focused on narcotrafficking, addressing the precursor chemical challenge in Central America, and best practices on the prevention of crime and violence. As a follow up, Guatemala, supported by the U.S., hosted a technical experts meeting on precursor chemicals in September 2013. The meeting was attended by Central American countries, the Dominican Republic, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Regional and Global Foreign Policy Issues The North American Leaders’ Summit in Toluca will give the three countries an opportunity to explore how to better cooperate on economic and security challenges in the hemisphere, with a particular focus on Central America and the Caribbean. This will build on efforts to combat transnational organized crime and will support hemispheric partners in strengthening institutions and building capacity for stability and growth, including through the sharing of expertise in the areas of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Beyond the Americas, the three leaders will exchange views on key global developments with a particular focus on the Middle East. They will also reiterate the importance of cooperation in many international fora, such as the United Nations, the G-20 and the Nuclear Security Summit process.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Feb 2014 22:02:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015