The Special Summit of the Americas was held on January 12 and 13, 2004 in
Monterrey,
Nuevo León,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
.
This summit is part of the
Summit of the Americas initiative which is carried on by the
Organization of American States with the purpose of bringing together the
Heads of State
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...
and
Government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
in the Hemisphere to discuss and act on political, economic and social issues concerning the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
. The summit gathered the leaders of all the countries which are members of the OAS, except for
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, whose participation from OAS activities had been suspended since 1962 until 2015.
Overview
The "
Summits of the Americas
The Summit of the Americas (SOA) is an international summit meeting that brings together the leaders of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS). Cuba was expelled from the OAS under pressure from the United States after the Cuba ...
" is the name for a continuing series of summits bringing together the leaders of
North America and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...
. The function of these summits is to foster discussion of a variety of issues affecting the western hemisphere. These high-level summit meetings have been organized by a number of multilateral bodies under the aegis of the
Organization of American States. In the early 1990s, what were formerly ''ad hoc'' summits came to be institutionalized into a regular "Summits of the Americas" conference program.
[Twaddle, Andrew C. (2002)]
''Health Care Reform Around the World,'' p. 382.
/ref>
* December 9–11, 1994 Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...
Summit of the Americas Center
(SOAC)
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
.
* December 7–8, 1996 Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz department.
Situated on the Pirai River in the eastern Tropical Lowlands of Bolivia ...
in Bolivia.
* April 18–19, 1998 2nd Summit of the Americas
The 2nd Summit of the Americas was held in Santiago, Chile, on April 18–19, 1998.
This gathering of regional leaders was the first attempt in four years to negotiate conditions for the creation of a hemispheric free trade area. No final agree ...
at Santiago
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...
in Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
.
* April 20–22, 2001 Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.[Summit Americas]
III summit (3rd)
/ref>
Objectives
In light of the economic and political challenges many countries in the region had faced since the 2001 Quebec City Summit of the Americas and because 14 Heads of State and Government in the Hemisphere had assumed office since then, the Government of Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
proposed holding a Special Summit of the Americas to reinforce hemispheric unity before the Fourth Summit of the Americas, which took place in Mar del Plata, Argentina, in 2005.
The goal of the Special Summit was to facilitate hemispheric cooperation at the highest level of government in order to address current economic, social and political challenges in the region.
The Special Summit of the Americas focused on three central issues:
*Economic growth with equity.
*Social Development.
*Democratic Governance.
See also
*Summits of the Americas
The Summit of the Americas (SOA) is an international summit meeting that brings together the leaders of countries in the Organization of American States (OAS). Cuba was expelled from the OAS under pressure from the United States after the Cuba ...
Notes
References
* Twaddle, Andrew C. (2002)
''Health Care Reform Around the World.''
Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing.
OCLC 48132063
External links
Summits of the Americas
* Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Monterrey Special Summit Of The Americas
Politics of the Americas
Organization of American States
Diplomatic conferences in Mexico
21st-century diplomatic conferences (Americas)
2004 in international relations
2004 in Mexico
2004 in North America
2004 in South America