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Atlanta Seen as a Municipal Leader in the Americas October 2005 – Atlanta officials will participate in an event that may help resume the Free Trade Area of the Americas negotiations when CIFAL Atlanta leads a delegation to Argentina on Nov. 3 for the first-ever municipality-level forum of the Summit of the Americas.
“Never before have the Summits of the Americas incorporated local authorities,” said Alex Mejia, program director of CIFAL Atlanta, who is serving as a coordinator for the forum. “This is important for Atlanta because by participating in the Summit of the Americas, we are promoting our name, the city of Atlanta, as a leading capital in the hemisphere,” Mr. Mejia told GlobalAtlanta. The forum will bring local leaders from municipalities throughout the Americas to discuss ways to achieve the Millennium Development Goals set forth by the U.N. It is to take place the day before the commencement of the fourth Summit of the Americas, a meeting that brings together the 34 democratically elected heads of state in the Western Hemisphere to develop solutions for the economic, political and social development of the region. The Summit of the Americas, to be held Nov. 4-5, is being heralded as a means of re-invigorating talks among hemispheric leaders to form the FTAA, a future free trade zone for which negotiations were to have concluded by last Jan. 1, but have been delayed over tough trade issues such as agricultural subsidies. The forum is a rare opportunity for Atlanta and Georgia representatives to engage senior officials at the municipal and ministerial levels. It is also a chance to demonstrate to all 34 FTAA countries that they are committed to addressing hemispheric diplomacy issues while continuing to pursue the FTAA Secretariat, according to CIFAL Atlanta Executive Director Axel Leblois. Officials from Atlanta participating in the Argentina conference include Craig Lesser, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development; Jose Ignacio Gonzalez, executive director of Hemisphere Inc. and trustee of CIFAL Atlanta; Mr. Mejia; Robert Kennedy, director of public relations and governmental affairs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport; Luis Aguilar, partner with the law firm of McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP; James Sarvis, director, Latin America and Caribbean for Delta Air Lines Inc.; Olivier Layly, regional vice president, Caribbean and Latin America for SITA airport technology consulting firm; Abby Smith, international events manager for CIFAL Atlanta and Daniela Salas, program coordinator at CIFAL Atlanta. More than 100 mayors, legislators and governors from Canada, Mexico and Latin America are expected to participate in the forum. Argentina’s vice president, Daniel Scioli, who visited Atlanta in July, agreed to deliver the inaugural address to open the forum. The event takes place following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between CIFAL Atlanta and the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development of the Organization of American States to collaborate in the strengthening of governmental institutions at the local level through training and technical assistance. Mr. LeBlois, executive director of CIFAL Atlanta, and Brian J.R. Stevenson, executive secretary of the executive secretariat, signed the agreement in Washington on Sept. 29. Both organizations will participate in a series of activities over the next several months, including the forum. Both also have strong interests in seeing the FTAA negotiations continue, as well as promoting the Millenium Development Goals, according to Mr. Leblois. Visit www.cifalatlanta.org or contact CIFAL Atlanta at (404) 962-4834. Visit www.flacma.org for information about the Forum of Local Authorities (in Spanish). Visit www.ivcumbreamericas.gov.ar for information about the Fourth Summit of the Americas in Argentina or www.summit-americas.org for general information about the summits. Source: Leigh Miller for GlobalAtlanta |
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