Speaking at COA's 39th Washington Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recognized that democratic elections are now the norm in the Western Hemisphere and argued that the next step is to address social inequality.

Canada’s Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice delivered remarks emphasizing the twin needs of reaching a multilateral climate change agreement while keeping an eye to warding off protectionism. In particular, he warned against “trade protectionism in the name of environmental protectionism.”

Addressing the 39th Washington Conference, the OAS secretary general talked remarked that the Fifth Summit of the Americas demonstrated a commitment to a common agenda and to tackling difficult tasks in the coming months.

At the opening reception for the 39th Washington Conference on the Americas, the Council honored U.S. Representative Elliot Engel (D-NY) with the Chairman's Award for Leadership in the Americas. Read his remarks.

In remarks at the annual Latin American Cities conference in Mexico City, Ambassador Richard McCormack, vice chairman of Merrill Lynch & Co. considered the implications of the global financial crisis for the United States and Mexico.

In opening remarks at the annual Latin American Cities conference in Mexico City, AS/COA President and CEO Susan Segal stressed that Mexico finds itself better-positioned to fight the global financial crisis and offered insight into the new U.S. administration.

Durante el foro de AS/COA "México: Perspectivas y Oportunidades Económicas en el Nuevo Entorno Mundial," el Secretario de Hacienda y Crédito Público Miguel Messmacher Linartes dió un discurso "cómo estamos viendo la situación global, cómo es que eso está afectando a la economía mexicana, y cómo estamos viendo hacia delante la estrategia de ajuste de la economía."