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Security and Prosperity Partnership Summit (SPP) August 2007
Written by Diana Thebaud Nicholson // August 18, 2007 // Americas, Economy, Environment & Energy // 2 Comments
18 August 2007
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America was created in March 2005 as a trilateral effort to increase co-operation on security, trade and public-health issues among the United States, Canada and Mexico through greater cooperation and information sharing.
“To hear some people talk, the Security and Prosperity Partnership meetings are nothing to get worked up about.Thomas D’Aquino, of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, has said the issues discussed at the SPP are ‘quite important but frankly quite boring. They’re not terribly exciting.’
David Bohigian, the American assistant secretary of commerce for market access and compliance, told the magazine The Nation that the SPP is mostly concerned with bureaucratic minutiae and standards harmonization. …
What’s happening in Montebello?
The leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico meet annually to discuss issues that fall under the SPP and which ones will be priorities in the coming year. Previous meetings occurred in Waco, Texas, in March 2005 and Cancun, Mexico, in March 2006.
In a statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said, In Montebello, we will discuss, among other things, the competitiveness of our businesses, energy and the environment, the efficiency of our borders and our preparedness for emergencies and disasters.
A press secretary for U.S. President George W. Bush had a slightly different set of topics for the talks: enhancing global competitiveness, safety of food and products, sustainable energy and the environment, smart and secure borders, as well as energy management. More
2 Comments on "Security and Prosperity Partnership Summit (SPP) August 2007"
Summit unlikely to extend the scope of NAFTA
Political opposition so ingrained that little progress expected to be made during meeting of Canadian, U.S. and Mexican leaders
Alan Freeman, Globe & Mail
OTTAWA — The leaders of Canada, the United States and Mexico may be ideological brothers but that doesn’t mean they have much chance of extending the scope of the North American free-trade agreement at their summit next week.
While Canadian officials attempted to persuade journalists yesterday that “yes, there will be concrete achievements” from the 24-hour meeting at Quebec’s Château Montebello on Monday and Tuesday between Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon, generalities multiplied and specifics were still lacking.
Interrested in how the importance of Mexico has been overlooked in the trans-atlantic agenda? This article provides some insight into how this growing economic power is being grossly underestimated by Europeans.
http://www.atlantic-community.org/index.php/articles/view/Europeans_Ignore_Mexico_At_Their_Peril