Audio: North America Leaders' Summit - A Panel Discussion

July 24, 2009

On July 24, AS/COA hosted Governor James Blanchard, former US Ambassador to Canada; Jim Jones, former US Ambassador to Mexico; and Dr. Robert Pastor, Co-Director of the Center for North American Studies at American University for a conversation on the upcoming North American Leaders’ Summit. On August 9 and 10, President Obama will meet with his counterparts President Calderon of Mexico and Prime Minister Harper of Canada in Guadalajara, Mexico, where they are likely to address issues such as climate change and clean energy, competitiveness, and the H1N1 virus. Other expected topics of discussion include Canada’s new visa requirements for Mexicans, the U.S. Buy American provisions, and Mexico’s security challenges. Panelists called on the three leaders to lay out a vision for North America and urged them to engage their legislatures in advancing North America relations.

Panelists:

• Governor James J. Blanchard, Former U.S. Ambassador to Canada Co-Chair, Government Affairs, DLA Piper
• Ambassador Jim Jones, Former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico CEO, Manatt Jones Global Strategies
• Dr. Robert Pastor, Co-Director, Center for North American Studies Professor of International Relations, American University
• Eric Farnsworth, Vice President and Head of Washington Office, Council of the Americas

Listen to a podcast of the discussion:
Download an mp3 of the audio.



See more in:  United States, Mexico, Canada, North America, U.S. Policy