This new gathering of leaders from the Americas will be held in Los Angeles, California, United States.
Joe Biden, President of the United States, will chair the 9th edition of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, hosted by the United States
NotiPress.- In June 2022 the IX Summit of the Americas will be held in the city of Los Angeles in California – USA. 34 countries from the hemisphere participate in this event to discuss common policies, affirm common values and commit to national and regional actions according to the Latin American and Caribbean economic system.
The Summit of the Americas was first held in Miami in 1994 at the invitation of former US President Bill Clinton and has been repeated about every three years since then. According to the US State Department, this is the only meeting of all the heads of state and government of the countries of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean. The United States currently chairs the Summit Advisory Board and the Summit Implementation Review Group. As the host country of the ninth edition, it also holds the presidency of the summit process.
Therefore, this country has convened this edition of the Americas Summit under the motto “Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future”. Among the concerns to be addressed at this meeting, the US Department of State lists the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on health, economic, educational and social systems. Also the threats to democracy, the climate crisis and the lack of equal access to economic, social and political opportunities.
Regarding this edition, the international press revealed an alleged reluctance by the host to invite Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to the summit. It should be noted that, as international media reported at the time, Cuba only attended the 2015 Summit of the Americas and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was excluded from the 2018 edition.
Questioning the official stance on the issue, senior White House management officials reiterate that there is no formal position to announce yet. They pledged to welcome the elected leaders of the western hemisphere but pointed out that as hosts they had the power to decide who would be invited.
However, they promised to consult Organization of American States (OAS) countries on the issue, as stated on January 20, 2022. On May 4, 2022, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki reiterated that a final decision on the matter has not yet been reached.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador was the main defender of these states’ presence at the summit. In statements to the press, he affirmed the legitimacy of their participation as American nations and urged that no one should be excluded. In addition to asking a specific question during the morning press conference on May 10, he announced that he would not attend the meeting if the United States decided not to invite the countries in dispute. In that case, a representative of the Mexican government, led by Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard, will take his place, he assured.
Los Angeles will host a new Summit of the Americas with US President Joe Biden as host. The most important detail so far is the refusal to invite countries with complicated diplomatic ties to the United States. However, leaders like López Obrador have not hesitated to express their displeasure and advocate non-exclusion during a political event of this magnitude.