Today is the opening of the 5th Summit on the Americas in Port of Spain Trinidad from April 17 - 19, 2009. The Country is a buzz to welcome President Obama. But more importantly, hemispheric cooperation and respect have risen. I suspect the Summit will restore a unified view of the Americas not just the US and those other countries and islands. The major focus of this Summit will be on human prosperity, energy security, climate change and sustainable development.
The Summit is organized by the Organization of American States. Thirty-four nations in the western hemisphere will attend. Trinidad and Tobago has been planing for the arrival of the heads of states, observers, families and visitors for over a year. Security details, aircraft arrivals and downtown traffic concerns are the talk of the local news. Even the US State Dept is hosting a digital town hall and hoping for significant online participation. At the very least, the import and export ratio for change is on the rise.
April 17, 2009