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The work of a hemisphere

by Colin L. Powell

Washington — Working with our friends in the Americas is one of the first and highest priorities of President Bush's administration. If our neighbors are democratic and law-abiding, open to trade, and willing to cooperate with us on improving the environment, fighting drugs and stopping disease, we can make a vital difference in the life of every American. With this in mind, President Bush has already started to bolster our relationships in this hemisphere. He has met with the leaders of Canada, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Brazil and Chile and meets today with Fernando de la Rúa, president of Argentina. Tomorrow, when he travels to Canada to attend the Third Summit of the Americas — a gathering of 34 democratically elected heads of state — he will promote this vision of a better life for all who live in the region.

At the summit, the leaders will set a common agenda of how our democracies can safeguard human rights as they build tighter economic bonds through free trade. The nations that believe in this vision should be proactive in defending these principles — and will be proactive in Quebec.

Much has been accomplished since the first Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994. At the past two summits, leaders promoted and defended the growth of democracy in the hemisphere. They expanded the rule of law by supporting the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption. They helped protect labor rights, advance the status of women and promote sustainable development.

These regular meetings have also provided a framework for cooperation in many other areas, so that ministers of trade, justice, finance, labor, environment, transportation and energy now meet regularly to tackle the problems we all face and identify ways in which we can help each other. These advances, often out of the public limelight, have strengthened our relationships with our neighbors and improved the lives of all.

Perhaps the best known achievement of the Summit of the Americas is the launching of the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. We will be able to sell American goods, technology and services without obstacles or restrictions within a single market of over 800 million people, with a combined income of more than $11 trillion, stretching from the Arctic to Cape Horn. President Bush looks forward to re-energizing the negotiations in Quebec.

Similarly, the president will give a further boost to democracy and rule of law, for we have seen in recent years that while democracy may be widespread, in many countries its institutions are fragile. We owe it to those committed to democracy to help protect their commitment. A highlight of the summit will be the affirmation that only democracies can participate in the Summit of the Americas and reap all its benefits. In addition, our leaders will decide on policies to make governments more open to their people, to fight the corruption that undermines societies and business, and more generally to promote good governance at all levels.

Free trade and freedom work together to make life better and our neighborhood safer. But to take advantage of this opportunity, people need skills and education. Thus, the leaders will reaffirm their commitment to improve education systems, increase access to quality education, improve teacher training and expand the use of modern information technology. From the northernmost reaches of Canada to the southern tip of Chile, our children and our neighbors' children will all need to be able to use the latest tools and the best technologies to work together and succeed in the globalized world of the new century.

At the Quebec summit, the president will also support initiatives to help nations prepare for natural disasters — like the hurricanes, mudslides and earthquakes we have all watched with concern in, countries next door — and to improve health care, strengthen civic groups, promote responsible practices by corporations and protect the environment.

President Bush and I are optimistic about the future for Americans here at home and in our larger neighborhood. At the summit, we will work with other nations to obtain the benefits of free trade, freedom and cooperation. As the president said during his first visit to the State Department, just before his first foreign trip — to Mexico — we will "work with our neighbors to build a Western Hemisphere of freedom and prosperity — a hemisphere bound together by shared ideals and free trade." In Quebec, he and the other leaders will continue to bring the benefits of this vision home to the people of the Americas.