Joint Statement by North American Leaders
February 19, 2014
Toluca, Mexico
We, the Leaders of North America, met today in Toluca, Mexico, to recognize
the strength of our relationship and open a new chapter in our partnership.
We are determined to promote inclusive broad-based economic growth for the
well-being of our citizens, so that 21st century North America sets new
global standards for trade, education, sustainable growth, and innovation.
Our region is among the most competitive and dynamic in the world. We have a
shared vision for its future, and a strong political, legal, and
institutional framework to build upon.
Our countries are established democracies and share values and aspirations.
Countless contacts among our societies bring us together. We generate close
to 30 per cent of global goods and services. Our trade is at least 265 per
cent larger than twenty years ago, when the North American Free Trade
Agreement came into force, and is now worth more than one trillion dollars
per year, while investment within the region has been multiplied by six. Our
three economies benefit from each others stability and complementarities,
and a shared commitment to creating good jobs and opportunities for all of
our citizens. Private investment is increasingly directed towards North
America, in recognition of the competitive advantage of our integrated
production and supply chains, and our highly skilled workforce.
Shared and Inclusive Prosperity
Our engagement as a region with the rest of the world has a direct impact on
the competitiveness of our economies and the prosperity of our societies. We
will continue to work closely on matters related to international trade, so
that our integrated supply chains are deepened and strengthened. We will
jointly promote trade and investment in those sectors in which the
integration of our production chains serves as a distinct global advantage,
and work together to highlight those advantages.
Our governments are committed to developing a North American Competitiveness
work plan, focused on investment, innovation and increased private sector
engagement. We seek to set new standards for global trade through the prompt
conclusion of a high standard, ambitious, and comprehensive Trans-Pacific
Partnership, as we promote further trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific
region.
We will develop a North American Transportation Plan, beginning with a
regional freight plan and building on existing initiatives. We will also
streamline procedures and harmonize customs data requirements for traders
and visitors. We will facilitate the movement of people through the
establishment in 2014 of a North American Trusted Traveller Program,
starting with the mutual recognition of the NEXUS, Global Entry, SENTRI and
Viajero Confiable programs.
Our governments will leverage the existing bilateral border mechanisms to
enhance the secure movement of goods across North America, and promote
trilateral exchanges on logistics corridors and regional development. Our
governments will designate observers to attend meetings of the border
management executive committees already in place. This approach will also be
followed within the existing bilateral processes on regulatory cooperation.
We will continue to protect and enforce intellectual property rights.
New Areas of Opportunity
The future success and competitiveness of our region depends on our ability
to foster innovation, provide our citizens access to high quality
educational opportunities and to technology, and promote a workforce with
the skills necessary for success in the 21st century global economy. To help
guide these efforts, our governments will engage stakeholders and academics
to better assess and plan for the needs of North Americas future workforce.
We will promote joint research in national laboratories and universities,
building connections between North American businesses, particularly
entrepreneurs, and technology accelerators. We will first focus on
entrepreneurship and innovation exchanges, and actions to advance the
economic empowerment of women. Authorities responsible for these efforts
will meet in an informal working group to seek greater coordination and
collaboration among them.
Academic exchange and educational mobility have long contributed to the
mutual understanding of our societies and of the promise of North America.
We commit to increase the number of student exchanges from within the region
in our respective higher education systems, in line with the United States
100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative, Mexicos Proyecta 100,000, and
Canadas International Education Strategy. We will explore opportunities for
further cooperation in this area.
Energy is a trilateral priority. Developing and securing affordable, clean
and reliable energy supplies can drive economic growth and support
sustainable development, as we shift towards a low carbon energy future. To
build on recent progress in this area, our Energy Ministers will meet later
in 2014 to discuss opportunities to promote common strategies on energy
efficiency, infrastructure, innovation, renewable energy, unconventional
energy sources, energy trade, and responsible resource development,
including the development of relevant technical studies.
Our countries will continue to work together to address climate change in
pursuit of an ambitious and inclusive global agreement within the U.N.
Framework Convention on Climate Change, while also collaborating through
complementary mechanisms like the Major Economies Forum, the Climate and
Clean Air Coalition, and the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas.
In addition, we will intensify our efforts to promote an amendment to the
Montreal Protocol to phase-down production and consumption of
climate-damaging hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
We will continue to collaborate in the protection of our regions
biodiversity and to address other environmental challenges, such as wildlife
trafficking and ecosystems at risk. Our governments will establish a working
group to ensure the conservation of the Monarch butterfly, a species that
symbolizes our association.
Citizen Security and Global Issues
We reaffirm our commitment to the principles of shared responsibility,
mutual trust, and respect, in support of our domestic priorities, as we face
together the challenges posed by transnational organized crime and other
threats to the security of our citizens. As increasingly integrated
neighbors, we recognize the need to collaborate effectively to counter
global threats, such as international terrorism, and to protect our shared
critical infrastructure.
The effective exchange of information and coordination among law-enforcement
authorities will remain essential. We will continue to coordinate and pursue
new areas of cooperation to counter drug trafficking, arms trafficking and
other illicit trade, consistent with our laws and constitutions. To more
effectively counter money laundering and illicit financial flows while
ensuring the efficient interconnection of our systems, our authorities will
enhance their dialogue on financial sector regulation and supervision. Our
governments share a commitment to combating human trafficking in all its
forms and will work toward improving services for the victims of this crime.
To strengthen regional security, we will continue to cooperate with our
partners in Central America and the Caribbean, and with other countries in
the hemisphere to promote development, economic growth and citizen security.
We will provide capacity building support, and seek closer collaboration on
financial inclusion and social safety nets, among other areas. We will
broaden the scope of our efforts by including actions on disaster risk
prevention and insurance, wildfire management, and access to affordable and
clean energy, and will promote sustainable social development.
North Americas response to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 remains an example of
timely and effective cooperation. We will build upon the North American Plan
for Animal and Pandemic Influenza (NAPAPI) to strengthen our preparedness
and response to future public health events.
North America will continue to develop collective solutions to global
challenges. Our three countries will increase our already robust cooperation
across the United Nations and other multilateral bodies. We will engage in
the definition of the post-2015 development agenda with an inclusive
approach that addresses inequalities and seeks to ensure that global
objectives are pursued according to national standards of accountability. We
support the Open Government Partnership, and we are committed to
transparency and open government across the world. We will also continue to
promote democracy, human rights and the respect of international law
throughout the world and in the Americas, consistent with the values
enumerated in the Inter American Democratic Charter.
Delivering on our Agenda
The success of this vision will hinge on its follow up. Our governments will
carry out periodic consultations on the implementation of our agreements,
reporting to leaders on the progress of our efforts before each upcoming
North American Leaders Summit. Our countries will also develop a new
outreach mechanism in 2014, through which experts and stakeholders will be
able to share their perspectives on our agenda and propose new lines of
action.
The collaboration between our governments, civil societies, academics,
entrepreneurs, and other actors, has a direct and positive impact in the
lives and wellbeing of our peoples. The future of North America is even more
brilliant than its past and together we can make it the most competitive and
dynamic region in the world.
President Obama and President Peña Nieto welcome Prime Minister Harpers
offer for Canada to host the next North American Leaders Summit in 2015.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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