Leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States gathered here on Monday for the fourth annual summit of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP). The following is some background information about the partnership.
The SPP, a region-level dialogue mechanism among Canada, Mexico and the United States, was founded in Waco, Texas on March 23, 2005 by Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, Vicente Fox, President of Mexico, and George W. Bush, President of the United States.
The SPP is based on the belief that security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary. Therefore, it works on two primary agendas: security and prosperity. The security agenda is designed to seek common security strategy to further secure North America and ensure the streamlined movement of legitimate travelers and cargo across shared borders. The prosperity agenda is designed to promote economic growth, competitiveness and quality of life of the region.
Among the stated goals of the SPP are cooperation and information sharing, improving productivity, reducing the costs of trade, enhancing the joint stewardship of the environment, facilitating agricultural trade while creating a safer and more reliable food supply, and protecting people from disease.
Leaders of the three countries host an annual summit under rotating basis to review progress and set priorities. The previous two summits were held in Montebello, Quebec, in 2007 and Cancun, Mexico, in 2006 respectively.
Source:Xinhua
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