THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release March 11, 1994

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Summit of the Americas

President Clinton announced today that he will host the Summit of the Americas in early December in Miami, Florida. In announcing that he would host a meeting of the leaders of the Hemisphere's democracies in the United States, the President said that "we have arrived at a moment of great promise and hope for the Western Hemisphere."

The Summit of the Americas will bring together all democratic leaders in the Americas and will be the largest gathering of heads of state and government ever hosted by the United States. All democratically-elected heads of state and government in North, South and Central America and the Caribbean will be invited.

Business, labor and non-governmental organizations from across the Hemisphere will be encouraged to propose initiatives for the Summit.

Between now and December, the United States will work with the governments of the Western Hemisphere on specific Summit objectives and agenda items. We want to focus Summit preparations on two themes:

          democracy and good governance:  how to strengthen our 
          governance and defend democracy collectively; and 

          trade expansion, investment and sustainable 
          development:  how to foster economic growth through 
          trade and investment while promoting a development 
          strategy that protects the environment and alleviates 
          poverty.

     The Summit of the Americas occurs at a moment of historic 

opportunity. Nearly every country in the Hemisphere has embraced the principles of democracy and market economics, underscoring a deepening convergence of interests and values. This provides a unique opportunity to design and build a vision of the future based on shared democratic ideals and mutual prosperity.

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