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 Americas & Beyond | April 2008 
US, Mexico, Canada Discuss Trade, Security Ahead of Summit
 Agence France-Presse
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| | US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (C) listens to a question during a joint news conference with Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa Cantellano( L) and Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier at the State Department in Washington. (AFP/Yuri Gripas) | | |
Washington - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met here Tuesday with her Mexican and Canadian counterparts to discuss free trade, an aid fund for natural disasters and preparations for a neighbors' summit.
Rice, Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa and Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier discussed security and trade issues for the summit hosted by US President George W. Bush in New Orleans on April 21 and April 22.
The summit will "review the progress and give direction to the Security and Prosperity Partnership," which was launched in 2005 to bolster cooperation against terrorism and other threats while improving trade, Rice told reporters.
"It is work that bridges all of the important issues: security, trade, prosperity," she said.
The three also "talked about the importance of free trade, the importance not just to the conclusion of the Doha round, but the importance of NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), how it has benefited all of our populations," Rice said.
She also discussed President George W. Bush administration's efforts to win passage of the Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which faces opposition in Congress.
"We talked about the importance of fighting the scourge of drugs and crime in our hemisphere, and particularly in North America," Rice said.
Espinosa signaled a joint endeavor in responding to natural disasters.
"We have spoken about one initiative, which is to act jointly in cases of disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean," Espinosa said.
"We will be putting our efforts together to establish a fund so that we can act together" in the event of a disaster, she said.
But the three countries will try to extend cooperation beyond the fund, which "may be limited," Espinosa said.
Both she and Bernier stressed the importance of free trade.
"It is important for the prosperity of our countries that we succeed in a free trade agreement," Bernier added.
"I raised with my colleagues the negotiation that we're having in Canada with the Colombian government for having a free trade agreement with them," he said.
"I hope that we'll be successful in a couple of months to have the final agreement," Bernier said. |
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