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.

Speaking at COA's Washington Conference, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos, and Mexico's Finance Secretary Agustín Carstens joined others in discussing policy issues affecting the hemisphere.

The AS/COA Energy Action Group hosted a panel on energy and climate change in the Western Hemisphere. Following the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April and in advance of the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December.

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad canceled his trip this week to Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador. Still, Tehran's deepening ties raise questions about Iranian relations with Latin America.

OAS Secretary-General José Miguel Insulza joined AS/COA Online for an interview about the recent Summit of the Americas, from negotiating mandates to carrying them out at June's General Assembly in Honduras. He also offered his view on the process for Cuba to rejoin the OAS.

COA hosted a discussion with the World Bank's Pamela Cox about the role of commodities in the region’s economic profile and future. Read a summary of the program.

For all the talk about Cuba and Venezuela, leaders moved forward on other fronts as well during the weekend's Summit of the Americas. On the sidelines, U.S. President Barack Obama signaled action on a trade pact with Colombia and a hemispheric clean-energy partnership.