19 January 2005
Western Hemisphere Important to U.S. Agenda, Rice Says
United States will work to promote democracy, development in region
By Scott Miller
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The Western Hemisphere is important to the United States, and the Bush administration will work to promote democracy and economic development in the region, according to Secretary of State-designate Condoleezza Rice.
January 18, during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rice said the Western Hemisphere is "extremely critical" to the United States and pledged the Bush administration will work on relationships in the region "in a very aggressive way."
Among the issues Rice addressed were the challenges confronting the region and the Bush administration's hemispheric agenda. She also shared insights on U.S. views, relationships and initiatives with Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, Haiti, Cuba, Central America and the Andean region.
"Democracy has a lot of challenges in Latin America," she told legislators. "It has the challenges of new, fragile institutions that have come into being over the last two decades. It has the challenges of trying to bring economic prosperity to very poor populations."
Rice said the Bush administration will confront these challenges by working to "promote democratic development and democratic institutions, and to begin to marry those democratic institutions with economic progress for the peoples of the region."
PROMOTING TRADE
The secretary-designate said trade is an important component of the efforts to advance the region's democratic and economic development. She pointed to the success of the U.S. trade agreement with Chile, which entered into force in 2004, and the recently concluded trade agreement between the United States, the Dominican Republic and the Central American nations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua (DR-CAFTA), soon to be presented to the Senate for approval.
Rice said that the Bush administration would prefer DR-CAFTA approval "sooner rather than later," and added the United States also continues to work with Brazil, as a co-chair, to move forward on forging a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Apart from collaborating as FTAA co-chairs, the U.S. relationship with Brazil is "extremely critical to the region," Rice said. She indicated that the United States would partner with Brazil and other hemispheric nations to confront regional challenges.
Rice also said the United States has made progress with Mexico and Canada on a number of issues, including the Smart Border Initiative, which employs technology to both facilitate legitimate commerce and enhance security. She said the United States and its North American neighbors also continue to consult on the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the next phases of North American economic integration.
"I would look forward to having extensive discussions about how we improve the competitiveness of North America as we face competition from the rest of the world," Rice said.
SUPPORTING DEMOCRACY
Within this context, Rice said she also hopes to work with the Organization of American States (OAS) to ensure the enforcement of the Inter-American Democratic Charter.
"I would hope to really spend some time with the Organization of American States, making certain that the agenda of promoting democratic development, holding accountable leaders who do not govern democratically, even if they are democratically elected -- that that would be an agenda that we could mobilize around," she said. "We are going to have to, as a hemisphere that signed a democracy charter, be devoted to making sure that those who signed that charter live up to it."
In defense of democracy, Rice noted that the United States has already been very active in Central America, since there are "very grave" challenges to some Central American governments.
The secretary-designate said the United States wants to avoid repeating the Latin American cycle of democratic developments followed by authoritarian ones. She said that even though certain Central American and Latin American nations have very high growth rates, more must be done to improve the ability of these countries to deal with their problems.
Rice said that enhancing the region's ability to meet the demands of its people is the "next step," and suggested that progress has already been made on some fronts.
ENGAGING THE ANDEAN REGION
Rice stressed that the United States supports Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's successful efforts to combat the challenges of terrorism and narcotics trafficking. She also explained that the United States is supporting the Andean region more broadly, through trade preferences and a counterdrug initiative. Despite these efforts, Rice said, more U.S. attention to the region is needed.
"We are engaging, and need to engage more; this is a very vital region, " she said. "It has a lot of challenges. It has a lot of potential."
Apart from the challenges of terrorism and narcotics trafficking, the negative influence of the current Venezuelan government is cause for concern in the Andes, Rice said.
The secretary-designate said it is unfortunate the government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has not been constructive, but has instead posed difficulties for its neighbors. Rice added that the Bush administration will closely monitor the situation -- particularly Venezuela's close association with Communist-controlled Cuba, as well as any breaches of democratic institutions within Venezuela.
"We are very concerned about a democratically elected leader who governs in an illiberal way, and some of the steps that have been taken against the media, against [political] opposition, I think are really very deeply troubling," she said.
Despite these concerns, Rice said she hopes the government of Venezuela will continue to recognize what has been a mutually beneficial relationship on energy and also participate in counterdrug activities in the Andean region.
ADDRESSING CUBA
As for Cuba, Rice said very close attention would be paid to implementing the recommendations of the Commission to Assist a Free Cuba. She said the regime of Cuban dictator Fidel Castro needs to be isolated, and added progress is being made in limiting the Cuban government's ability to siphon off monies intended for humanitarian purposes, funds spent on travel to Cuba and remittances sent by U.S. residents to family members on the island.
"The day that the people of Cuba are finally free is going to be a great one for the Western Hemisphere," she said. "The Commission recommendations were intended to try and hasten that day and also to try to prepare the ground for a peaceful transition ... it's a very important goal, and you can be certain that we'll pay extremely close attention to it."
ASSISTING HAITI
As the United States works to hasten democracy in Cuba, Rice said, the Bush administration is also actively supporting the development of democratic institutions in Haiti. The secretary-designate noted that the United States not only committed $230 million in assistance to Haiti at a 2004 donors’ conference, but supports the efforts of Haiti's interim government to arrange elections in the fall of 2005, and will work with Haitian officials and others to restart the Haitian economy.
Rice applauded Brazil's leadership of the U.N. stabilization mission in Haiti, and said that the development of a professional civilian police force that can be counted on to enforce the law would help the island nation. She said police trainers from the United States and other places have been sent to Haiti to facilitate this process. Rice acknowledged the international community has much work ahead in Haiti.
Despite serious challenges in the region, the Bush administration remains committed to advancing the interests of a free and prosperous Western Hemisphere, Rice emphasized. “With our close neighbors in Latin America, we are working to realize the vision of a fully democratic hemisphere bound by common values and free trade,†she said.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
