9th Summit of the Americas

The Ninth Summit of the Americas was an international conference held in Los Angeles, United States, from June 6 to 10, 2022.[2] The theme was "Building a Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Future".

9th Summit of the Americas
IX Cumbre de las Américas
Host countryUnited States
DateJune 6–10, 2022[1]
CitiesLos Angeles
Follows8th Summit of the Americas
Precedes10th Summit of the Americas

Background

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The White House announced in January 2022 that the City of Los Angeles would serve as host.[3] As host, the United States selects the site of the summit and its attendees. The United States did not invite Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to the summit as these countries are accused of having undemocratically elected leaders.[4] It was known the US would not invite these leaders. The White House and State Department did not announce an official invitation list until May 30.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the President of Mexico, was the first to announce he would not attend the summit if all nations were not in attendance. López Obrador stated he would send his foreign secretary to the summit in his place.[5] Other leaders followed, such as Xiomara Castro, the President of Honduras; Luis Arce, the President of Bolivia; Nayib Bukele, the President of El Salvador; and Ralph Gonsalves, the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.[6][7] [better source needed] Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said they would not attend the summit if invited.[8]

The United States Department of State led efforts to galvanize support for the summit and keep other nations from not attending.[9] Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian A. Nichols stated the US will not invite countries that do not respect democracy.[10]

Alejandro Giammattei, the President of Guatemala, stated he would not attend the summit after the US criticized his government's reappointment of María Consuelo Porras as attorney general, who had been accused of undermining corruption investigations.[11][12][13] Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou had been scheduled to attend, but cancelled after testing positive for COVID-19.[14] Grenadian Prime Minister Keith Mitchell announced he would not attend due to the current election cycle in his country.[15] Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Bolivia, Uruguay, Grenada, and Saint Kitts and Nevis sent a delegation headed by their respective secretaries or ambassadors. Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had no government delegation at the summit.[16]

Events

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Heads of Delegation of the IX Summit of the Americas Photo

Monday June 6

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Pre-Summit Civil Society Forum.

Tuesday June 7

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Civil Society Forum, Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas.

Wednesday June 8

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The 9th CEO Summit of the Americas

Civil Society Forum, Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas.[17]

The inaugural ceremony was held at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles.[18] Music producer Emilio Estefan organized the musical performances. Performances by Alex Fernandez Jr., Sheila E. and music written for the event by Estefan himself. The song was sung by a teenage choir.[19] Welcome speeches were given by Mayor Eric Garcetti, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Thursday June 9

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The first plenary session
 
Dinner at the Getty Villa

Young Americas Forum, CEO Summit of the Americas, First plenary session.

After the first plenary session held at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Downtown Los Angeles, President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden held a dinner for world leaders and their spouses at the Getty Villa museum in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff hosted a dinner for foreign secretaries and their delegations at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). In attendance was the Los Angeles Latin diplomatic corps, the Los Angeles Consular Corps, California's two U.S. senators, a congressional delegation headed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, California Governor Gavin Newsom and local county and city leaders.[20]

Friday June 10

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The signing of the Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection

Second and third plenary session.

Twenty countries signed on to the "Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection in the Americas".[21]

Delegation leaders

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United States President Joe Biden with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro
Summary of attending leaders
Country Chief representative Office Ref.
  Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne Prime Minister
  Argentina Alberto Fernández President [22]
  Bahamas Philip Davis Prime Minister
  Barbados Mia Mottley Prime Minister
  Belize Johnny Briceño Prime Minister
  Bolivia Rogelio Mayta Minister of Foreign Relations [7]
  Brazil Jair Bolsonaro President
  Canada Justin Trudeau Prime Minister
  Chile Gabriel Boric President
  Colombia Iván Duque President
  Costa Rica Rodrigo Chaves Robles President
  Cuba Uninvited
  Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit Prime Minister
  Dominican Republic Luis Abinader President
  Ecuador Guillermo Lasso President
  El Salvador Alexandra Hill Tinoco Minister of Foreign Affairs
  Grenada Nickolas Steele Minister for Health and Social Security of Grenada
  Guatemala Mario Búcaro Minister of Foreign Affairs
  Guyana Irfaan Ali President
  Haiti Ariel Henry Prime Minister
  Honduras Enrique Reina Minister of Foreign Affairs of Honduras [23]
  Jamaica Andrew Holness Prime Minister
  Mexico Marcelo Ebrard Secretary of Foreign Affairs [24]
  Nicaragua Uninvited
  Panama Laurentino Cortizo President
  Paraguay Mario Abdo Benítez President
  Peru Pedro Castillo President
  Saint Kitts and Nevis Thelma Phillip-Browne Ambassador
  Saint Lucia Philip J. Pierre Prime Minister
  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Did not attend [25]
  Suriname Chan Santokhi President
  Trinidad and Tobago Keith Rowley Prime Minister
  United States Joe Biden President
  Uruguay Francisco Bustillo Minister of Foreign Relations [26]
  Venezuela Uninvited

References

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  1. ^ "June 6–10, 2022 Los Angeles, CA". ixsummitamericas.org. 8 June 2022.
  2. ^ Spetalnick, Matt (27 April 2022). "Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela's Maduro government unlikely to be invited to regional summit -U.S." Reuters.
  3. ^ "IX Summit of the Americas". U.S. Department of State.
  4. ^ Bernal, Rafael (29 April 2022). "Cuba denounces expected Summit of the Americas snub by US". The Hill.
  5. ^ Gutiérrez, Ángela (6 June 2022). "AMLO no estará en la Cumbre de las Américas porque "no se invita a todos los países". France 24.
  6. ^ "Ausencia de Xiomara Castro en Cumbre de las Américas podría marcar el inicio de una ruptura con EE.UU". Expediente Público. 4 June 2022.
  7. ^ a b "El canciller Mayta encabeza comitiva boliviana en la Cumbre de las Américas". El Comercio. 7 June 2022.
  8. ^ Wilkinson, Tracy (26 May 2022). "Cuba says it won't attend Summit of the Americas in L.A. after Biden administration snub". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Suarez, Karol; Pozzebon, Stefano (10 May 2022). "Mexico's President threatens to skip Americas summit unless US invites every country". CNN.
  10. ^ Khan, Carrie (24 May 2022). "Many nations say they won't go to the Summit of the Americas unless all are invited". NPR.org.
  11. ^ "Guatemala: Attorney General's Reappointment Threatens Rights". Human Rights Watch. 19 May 2022.
  12. ^ Salmon, Santana (1 June 2022). "Vincent PM urges regional leaders to boycott Summit of the Americas". Caribbean National Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  13. ^ Salmon, Santana (31 May 2022). "Dr. Ralph Gonsalves says US President has no right to exclude anyone from Summit of Americas". Caribbean National Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Uruguay president says COVID-19 positive, will not attend U.S.-hosted Americas Summit". Reuters. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-09.
  15. ^ "Prime Minister Not Attending Summit of the Americas Because of Grenada's Election Time". WEE 93.3/9 FM Radio Grenada. 2022-06-07. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  16. ^ "Who's Coming to the Summit of the Americas?". AS/COA. 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  17. ^ "Official Schedule - Summit of the Americas".
  18. ^ Karlamangla, Soumya (2022-06-09). "Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles Features President Biden, Kamala Harris". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  19. ^ Moos, Jeanne (9 June 2022). "Watch: Disney apologizes to couple after employee spoils their proposal". CNN. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Secretary Antony J. Blinken, Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Los Angeles Museum of Art Director Michael Govan at a Summit of the Americas Reception for Foreign Ministers". U.S. State Department. 9 June 2022.
  21. ^ United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (2022-06-10). "UNHCR - UNHCR welcomes Los Angeles Declaration on Migration and Protection in the Americas". Unhcr.org. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  22. ^ "El presidente concluyó su agenda de trabajo en la IX Cumbre de las Américas". casarosada.gob.ar (in Spanish). 10 June 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Canciller Enrique Reina representara a Honduras". Laprensa. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  24. ^ Hooper, Kelly (6 June 2022). "Mexican president won't attend Summit of the Americas". Politico. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  25. ^ Clarke, Sherrylyn (3 June 2022). "St Vincent to boycott Summit of the Americas". www.nationnews.com. Retrieved 2022-06-14.
  26. ^ "Canciller uruguayo viaja a EEUU para participar en la Cumbre de las Américas". Swissinfo. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
Preceded by Summits of the Americas
2022
Los Angeles, United States
Succeeded by