Summit of the Americas
What is the Summit of the Americas?
How is the preparation of a summit organized?
Months in advance, representatives of participating governments work to establish shared priorities, needs, and concerns that can go from strengthening democratic systems to good governance.
The Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) performs pivotal work during this stage. This central body, composed of National Coordinators from each participant country, meets three times a year and is responsible for updating the foreign ministries of each country on the progress of the adoption of the last summit agreements.
Operating under the auspices of the Organization of American States (OAS), SIRG has two advisory bodies:
- Governing Board: representatives of the countries that have hosted a Summit of the Americas participate in this instance.
- Executive Council: is a regional representative group that evaluates, strengthens, and supports the follow-up of the summit initiatives.
Additionally, institutions such as the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) provide technical support to SIRG.
How does the private sector participate in the Summit of the Americas?
While the Summit of the Americas focuses on governments, the private sector has its forum known as the CEO Summit of the Americas.
Since both events occur in the exact location and almost simultaneously, it provides an excellent opportunity for public-private collaboration.
The CEO Summit of the Americas is the region’s leading business meeting. In its preparatory stage, the Americas Business Dialogue, an initiative led by the private sector and facilitated by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), contributes with policy recommendations generated in the sectoral working groups. Each recommendation serves as input to make this platform of exposure and exchange a contribution to the sustainable development of the Americas.
Past meetings
I CEO Summit of the Americas
April 13 - 14, Cartagena de Indias, Colombia
Upon request of the Government of Colombia, and in active collaboration with ANDI (National Business Association of Colombia), the Inter-American Development Bank provided technical and logistical support to the organization of the first edition of the CEO Summit of the Americas preceding the VI Summit of the Americas. The CEO Summit took place in Cartagena de Indias on April 13-14, 2012, offering a unique venue for the hemisphere’s most important business and government leaders to gather and discuss the many opportunities for social and economic development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The CEO Summit of the Americas was a great success. More than 700 top businesspeople from 21 countries in the Americas and 13 Heads of State participated, and more than 170 business meetings took place during the Summit.
Agenda Press Release Video
II CEO Summit of the Americas
April 8 - 10, Panama City, Panama
Some of the high level speakers of the II CEO Summit were: Ban Ki-moon (Secretary General of the United Nations), Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz (Minister of Trade and Foreign Investment of the Republic of Cuba), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Carlos Slim (Fundación Carlos Slim), Alberto Aleman Zubieta (ABCO-Global), Rául Aleman Zubieta (Banco General), Francisco Aristeguieta (Citi Latin America), Alejandro Bulgheroni (Associated Petroleum Investors), Vint Cerf (Google), Eulogio del Pino (PDVSA), Thomas J. Donohue (U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Miguel Galuccio (YPF), Reinaldo Garcia (GE Latin America), Andres Gluski (AES), Gustavo Grobocopatel (Grupo Los Grobo), James McNerney (Boeing), Muhtar Kent (The Coca-Cola Company), Arthur Lok Jack (Associated Brands), Bruce Mac Master (ANDI), Ali Moshiri (Chevron Africa and Latin America), Stanley Motta (Copa Holdings), Laxman Narasimhan (PepsiCo Latin America Foods), Enrique Ostale (Wal-Mart Latin America), Brian Porter (ScotiaBank), Luis Carlos Sarmiento (Grupo Aval).
III CEO Summit of the Americas
April 12 - 13, Lima, Perú
Some of the high level speakers of the III CEO Summit were: Alicia Bárcena (Executive Secretary, ECLAC), Susan Segal (President, Council of the Americas), Thomas J. Donohue (President & CEO, U.S. Chamber of Commerce), Bruce Mac Master (President, ANDI), Robson Braga de Andrade (President, CNI), Brian J. Porter (President & CEO Scotiabank), Alex Dimitrief (President and CEO for Global Growth, General Electric), Andres Gluski (CEO, AES Corporation), Kelvin Dushnisky (President, Barrick Gold), Richard C. Adkerson (Vice Chairman, President & CEO, Freeport-McMoRan), Gilberto Caldart (President para América Latina, Mastercard), Luiza Helena Trajano (CEO, Magazine Luiza), Mauricio Castillo (CCO, Sigdo Koppers), Joakim Thrane (CEO for Central and South America, DHL Express), Romaine Seguin (President, Americas Region, UPS), Isabel Noboa (President & CEO, Consorcio Nobis), Brian Winter, (Editor-in-Chief, Americas Quarterly Magazine), Ana Paula Assis (CEO for Latin America, IBM), César Cernuda (President for Latin America, Microsoft).
Agenda Press Release Videos
IV CEO Summit of the Americas
June 7 - 9
Los Angeles, California
Entrepreneurs and executives of private companies and organizations from across the continent gathered from June 7 to 9 in Los Angeles, California, to participate in the IV CEO Summit of the Americas.
During the meeting, private sector leaders analyzed the region's challenges and opportunities, yielding growth, equity, and prosperity results. The key focus areas included in the discussions were:
- Trade: seek formulas to strengthen it.
- Health: putting the focus on building robust and resilient health economies.
- Digital transformation: the goal was to generate a concrete action plan to progress.
- Energy and sustainability: promote driving growth based on energy transition.
- Rule of law
- Inclusion of small businesses: strengthen their participation in trade and supply chains.
ABD´s role in the Summit
The CEO Summit of the Americas is the region's largest gathering of business leaders. Therefore, this forum is a perfect opportunity to address challenges and opportunities shared by all.
In this context, ABD's work becomes crucial. During this version of the summit, representatives from ABD participated in a panel discussion. The power of public-private partnerships was highlighted, and the 2022 Policy Recommendations, which the groups had been working on, were presented.
The panel featured Bruce Mac Master, President of ANDI, María Teresa Arnal, Executive Director of Stripe Latin America, and Paul Dyck, Vice President of International Government Affairs at Walmart.
ABD Policy Recommendations 2022
The discussion emphasized the importance of commercial partnerships in the Americas and how this contributes to the region's sustainable growth.
Additionally, on June 7, over 100 ABD member companies participated in a Trade and Investment Forum, where different experiences were exchanged, and collaboration opportunities were identified to promote sustainable trade and investments in the Americas.
During the summit days, more than 85 meetings occurred between the business sector and regional government representatives.
More Information in the following link:
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