President Bush addresses the Permanent Council in the Hall of the Americas. Gaviria added that the OAS has rapidly and effectively responded to attempts to alter the constitutional order in member countries and that electoral observation missions have helped to ensure the integrity, objectivity and reliability of the electoral process in many member states. Bush also focused on his commitment to pursuing free trade negotiations on all fronts, including bilateral deals and the Free Trade Area of the Americas, covering the Western Hemisphere. Bush told the Permanent Council that liberalizing trade was crucial to strengthening democracy in the hemisphere. Democratic freedoms cannot flourish unless our hemisphere also builds a prosperity whose benefits are widely shared.
Open trade is an essential foundation for that prosperity and that possibility.
Chairing the meeting, Colombia's Ambassador to the OAS, Humberto de la Calle, welcomed the U.S. leader and underscored the need for increased trade and more markets for products from the region. We do not need aid. We need markets.