Presidents of the Americas joined world leaders for the annual UN General Assembly (UNGA). Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened debate, calling for a 2012 environmental conference in Rio. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet made the case for her nation to hold a UN Human Rights Council seat and President Evo Morales of Bolivia proposed the UN convene a forum for indigenous peoples. AS/COA hosted several Latin American leaders, including Bachelet and Morales, during the week of UNGA.

During an August summit of North American leaders in Canada, the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC)—a trilateral council of business leaders representing the private sectors of Canada, Mexico, and the United States—offered recommendations on border-crossing facilitation, standards and regulatory cooperation, and energy integration. To download the report, click here. For more about the NACC, click here.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s recent trip to Latin America signaled Canada’s commitment to promoting stability in the region through trade and investment. Canada serves as a model for Latin American countries with newly-elected leaders but fragile institutions.

Latin American and Caribbean nations must realize that direct investment is the lifeblood of development, and that capital will always go where risk-adjusted rewards are believed to be greatest.

Ask many observers of Latin America and the Caribbean why the hemisphere is floundering, and they will say that the United States has neglected the region since September 11 and the war in Iraq, thus leading to a downward spiral. It is time to put such superficial analysis aside.