Trinidad and Tobago has benefited from this, the region has benefitted from this, and the United States has benefitted from this policy. We are delighted that the government of Prime Minister Panday has endorsed these policies. The Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994 institutionalized these changes by bringing together for the first time the leaders of every democratically elected nation in this hemisphere, in a spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation. As the Summit recognized, for the first time in history a new consensus of the Americas has been formed. Open markets work.
Democratic governments are just.
And together, they offer the best hope for people's lives. At the Summit, hemispheric leaders called for increased development of energy sectors. Not in a blind race for increased energy production at any cost, but in a sustainable manner friendly to the environment. Improved access to clean, economic, market-priced energy sources is a critical aspect of hemispheric development. The Summit also recognized the need to increase trade and financing that can affect large energy investments.