Canada to Host Next Summit of the Americas


April 19, 1998
Santiago, Chile

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced today in Santiago, Chile that Canada will host the next Summit of the Americas. The Prime Minister said the decision by leaders at the Summit reflects Canada's resurgent role in the region and its leadership on trade liberalization.

This strong endorsement from the Western Hemisphere's leaders means that Canada is charged with coordinating and guiding the meeting of 34 heads of government. A date and location in Canada have yet to be determined.

"Canada is immensely proud to host the next Summit of the Americas," said the Prime Minister. "This announcement is the culmination of years of hard work in the region on trade liberalization and social issues. Our leadership of the next Summit recognizes our strong role in the evolving community of the Americas and in the dawning of a new global century of shared progress and values."

The decision was announced as leaders issued their final declaration and a detailed plan of action outlining initiatives on the four Summit themes: economic integration; democracy and human rights; education; and poverty and discrimination.

The plan reflects the leaders' belief that democracies will only continue to flourish in the region if poverty and discrimination are alleviated. Education is seen as critical in giving the region's citizens the tools needed to reach these goals. Leaders committed to making the concerns of the region's indigenous peoples a priority.

Leaders also affirmed their determination to curb the scourge of illegal drugs, which they see as a social threat that undermines the many positive democratic changes underway in the region. Prime Minister Chrétien said he was proud of Canada's proposal to form an action group of foreign ministers to respond to this threat.

"The countries of the region are becoming more than friends. They are becoming a family," said the Prime Minister. "The Western Hemisphere is no longer a passive fact of geography. It is a part of our new outlook, and of a new century of cooperation and shared values."

The next Summit will be the pinnacle of several years of intense activity by Canada in the hemisphere:

  • Leaders launched negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) at the Summit today. Canada will chair the FTAA negotiations for the first 18 months, and will host the next meeting of the hemisphere's trade ministers in 1999.
  • The Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement was signed in 1996 and implemented in 1997.
  • The January 1998 Team Canada trade mission resulted in 306 business deals worth $1.78 billion, the largest number of deals of any Team Canada mission.
  • Winnipeg will host the Pan American Games in the summer of 1999.
  • Canada will host the general assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) in the year 2000.

    • The first Summit of the Americas was held in Miami, United States, in December 1994.

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