Prime Minister Honorable Dr. John Briceño participates in the IX Summit of the Americas

With a focus on “Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future,” the Ninth (IX) Summit of the Americas was held in Los Angeles, California, in the United States of America. From June 6th to the 10th, country leaders from north, south, and central America gathered to address the hemisphere’s challenges and opportunities within the partnership. Representing Belize was Prime Minister Honorable Dr. John Briceño, who delivered his address at the Plenary Session of the IX Summit of the Americas.

In his address, PM Briceño spoke on the region’s wealth disparity, and the challenges smaller nations face. “The future of the Western Hemisphere is a responsibility of all the countries of this hemisphere. Regardless of our size, GDP, or system of governance, we all have a shared interest in a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future…the Belizean people, like people across Latin America and the Caribbean, are weathering successive and simultaneous crises. Caribbean economies are in a precarious place because of our inherent vulnerabilities to external shocks, including exposure to climate change and devastating storms. But the pandemic and now the effects of the war in Ukraine have further battered our economies,” said Briceno.

He ended by calling for unity and coordinated response to the issues affecting the Americas.” Now is the time for actions that are focused on achieving a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future for the hemisphere…action must include the finalization and use of a multidimensional vulnerability index to determine access to grants and concessional development finance so that countries like ours can affordably finance our recovery and build resilience. Action must include debt relief. Action must include a coordinated, multilateral response to the deepening food and energy crises, including financing and technology transfer to support the acceleration of renewable energy…the confluence of crises of our times requires all the countries of the hemisphere to work together in a spirit of solidarity and cooperation.”

As part of the IX Summit of the Americas, US President Joe Biden, host of the event, announced the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity – a new agreement to drive economic recovery and growth in the region. “Accounting for 31.9 % of global GDP, the Western Hemisphere is one of the most dynamic economic regions in the world, and the United States’ ties with the rest of the hemisphere are broad and deep. Still reeling from the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Latin America and the Caribbean has seen the deepest economic contraction of any region in the world. Income inequality is widening, millions of people are being cast back into poverty, and global inflation – made worse by Putin’s war in Ukraine – is straining families’ budgets. The Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity will rebuild our economies from the bottom up and middle out.” The agreement will focus on five key areas: Reinvigorating Regional Economic Institutions and Mobilizing Investment; Making More Resilient Supply Chains; Updating the Basic Bargain; Creating Clean Energy Jobs and Advancing Decarbonization and Biodiversity; and Ensuring Sustainable and Inclusive Trade. It is the hope for Biden’s Administration that the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity agreement will be a high-standards approach built on shared values and, in turn, supports hemispheric recovery, resilience, and stability across the Americas.

The Summit is the only hemispheric meeting of country leaders for this side of the world. In addition to the prominent leaders’ Summit, three official stakeholder forums were also held; the Ninth Civil Society Forum, the Sixth Young Americas Forum, and the Fourth CEO Summit of the Americas.