Congressional Press Conference Regarding Visit to Cuba- Washington, DC, April 7,2009
http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID=285165-1&clipStart=&clipStop=Fifth Summit of the Americas Preview, being taped this afternoon, 4/8/09 - check C-Span for when it might air (probably later this evening or tomorrow). Below is background on this forum -ay dios mio, what a line-up:
Note: The event will take place at the University of California Washington Center, 1608 Rhode Island Ave - not at the Dialogue.
The Fifth Summit of the Americas:
What Is Expected?
A discussion with
Ricardo Lagos
Former President of Chile
José Miguel Insulza
Secretary General
Organization of American States
Luis Alberto Moreno
President
Inter-American Development Bank
Mack McLarty
Former Special Envoy for the Americas
In the Clinton Administration
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
4:30 – 6:00 p.m.
University of California Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Ave, NW
Washington, DC
I am pleased to invite you to join us on Wednesday, April 8, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. for a discussion about the Fifth Summit of the Americas with former president Ricardo Lagos of Chile (currently co-chair of the Dialogue), OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, and Inter-American Development Bank President Luis Alberto Moreno. Note please: The discussion will take place at the University of California Washington Center, 1608 Rhode Island Ave—not at the Dialogue.
The Summit, which opens the next week in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, will bring together all 34 of the hemisphere’s elected heads of state. Expectations for the meeting are mixed. There is some concern that the frictions in inter-American relations that marred the last Summit—in 2005 in Mar del Plata, Argentina—may upset this gathering as well. That now seems unlikely, however, with a new and widely admired president in the White House and every country of the hemisphere facing a deteriorating economic situation. At the same time, the strains in hemispheric relations have by no means been resolved, and doubts persist in the region about the prospects and value of increased cooperation with the United States.
The central question may be whether or not there can be a serious exchange of views among the group of leaders in Port of Spain about the global and regional challenges confronting the hemisphere, starting with the economic crisis, and what can and should be done to address them. If that exchange takes place in an orderly and civil fashion, a great deal will have been achieved. The leaders will have set a better tone for hemispheric discourse in the coming period.
We are pleased that President Lagos, OAS Secretary General Insulza, and IDB President Moreno have agreed to lead off our discussion, and let us know their expectations for the Summit.
We very much hope you will be able to be with us. Please let us know if that will be possible by responding to this e-mail.
Best regards,
Peter Hakim