“Brazil has all the proper conditions to help respond to the many challenges that the world confronts in the twenty-first century," said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his acceptance speech for Americas Society’s Gold Insigne.

Pesident Luiz Inácio da Silva's prepared remarks delivered at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas after accepting the AS Gold Insigne award.

On September 17, the COA hosted a panel discussion on Capitol Hill to discuss the pending Free Trade Agreement between the United States and Panama. The forum provided an opportunity to analyze the future of trade links between the two countries.

AS/COA hosted its annual conference in Lima on September 4, featuring a remarks by President Alan García, Prime Minister Jorge del Castillo, and Foreign Affairs Minister José Antonio García Belaunde. Read a summary of the event.

U.S.-Argentine relations and the effects of global economic turbulence were among the topics discussed at AS/COA's annual conference in Buenos Aires. Featured speakers included U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Tom Shannon, European Central Bank President Lucas Papademos, and Economy Minister Carlos Fernández. Read the conference summary.

In the wake of the floundering Doha Round of trade talks, AS/COA hosted its annual Montevideo conference, focusing on Uruguay's positive economic performance in the context of global market flux. Presentations by Ministers Danilo Astori and Daniel Martínez as well as U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks served as conference highlights.

U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks, in remarks delivered at AS/COA's Latin American Cities Conference in Montevideo, urged the expansion of inter-American trade pacts. Representative Meeks sees an opportunity to "construct a new framework for hemispheric cooperation and renew our joint focus on hemisphere unity."