Global Recovery: A View From the Americas

Posted by Roberta Jacobson / May 09, 2012

Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roberta Jacobson delivers remarks at the 42nd Conference on the Americas at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., May 8, 2012. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

Economic recovery, at home, in Europe, across the globe, seems to be on everyone's minds these days. In the United States, the engine to power our economic recovery is fueled by human and physical resources right here in our own hemisphere. No one knows this better than the Council of the Americas. Since its founding in 1965, the Council's approximately 200 members account for a large percentage of U.S. investment in Latin America and the Caribbean. Their investment is linked by a shared belief that free markets and private enterprise, coupled with strong democratic governance, offer the most effective means to achieve regional economic growth and prosperity.

Yesterday, when we addressed the Council at their annual conference,… more »

Posted under: Western Hemisphere

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Working Toward a More Secure Central America

Posted by William R. Brownfield / March 13, 2012

Panamanian National Police stand in formation during their change in command ceremony in Panama City, Panama on September 2, 2004. [AP File Photo]

Cockroaches always scurry to the dark when discovered. Experts offer this analogy for why we see shifts in drug trafficking when one country or region successfully resists penetration by illegal trafficking networks. After some successes against these networks in Colombia and Mexico, Central America is seeing an increase in crime and violence which sadly inflicts unwanted pain and suffering on the people of the region. Narcotics traffickers seek to subvert or neutralize a country's judicial and security institutions to make the environment more conducive to their criminal activities. The U.S. government's Central America Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) is working to shore up institutions and restore citizen security through programs aimed at improving the police, lawyers,… more »

Posted under: Western Hemisphere

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Advancing U.S. Economic Statecraft in 2012

Posted by Jose W. Fernandez / January 09, 2012

Shipping containers line the Port of Long Beach, awaiting export in Long Beach, California, in January 2011. [AP File Photo]

This time last year, I made three, broad resolutions for 2011: to continue promoting U.S. job creation; to seek and build overseas economic alliances; and to protect U.S. businesses and their interests. Beyond these three, I also resolved to exploit every opportunity to foster prosperity at home and abroad. It is clear to me that my bureau's hard work and resilient efforts paid off during 2011. In the wake of the Arab Awakening, we took quick steps to foster economic recovery in the region, including through promotion of entrepreneurship and U.S.-Middle East business relationships. This fall, we seized long-standing opportunities for expanding economic growth by finalizing trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea,… more »

Posted under: Policy

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Protecting and Assisting the World’s Most Vulnerable Populations

Posted by David Robinson / January 02, 2012

Water center in Dolo Kobe, Ethiopia, 2011 [State Department photo]

With an estimated 40 million displaced people worldwide, up to 12 million who do not have citizenship to any country, and some 10.5 million refugees around the globe, the State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) assists persecuted and uprooted people through our support to international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and by advocating for their protection through humanitarian diplomacy. From the Arab Awakening to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, global political upheaval and conflict have presented many humanitarian challenges, and as 2012 begins, I'd like to take a moment to share a few examples of the work we did last year.

Refugee Admissions: The United States welcomed more than 56,000 refugees… more »

Posted under: Policy

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