Seeking Partnership With LatAm

"Every day, the future is being forged by the countries and peoples of Latin America," said U.S. President Barack Obama during a recent visit. "The world must now recognize Latin America for the dynamic and growing region that it truly is.

"Latin America is at peace. Civil wars have ended. Insurgencies have been pushed back. Old border disputes have been resolved. ...

"Today, Latin America is democratic. Virtually all the people of Latin America have gone from living under dictatorships to living in democracies.

"Today, Latin America is growing. Having made tough but necessary reforms, nations like Peru and Brazil are seeing impressive growth," he said.

Today's Latin America is a region on the move, ready to assume a greater role in world affairs. "The lessons of Latin America," said President Obama, "can be a guide -- a guide for people around the world who are beginning their own journeys toward democracy."

The United States is working with the nations of South and Central America to meet our responsibilities in several key areas, said President Obama.

"In the Americas today, there are no senior partners and there are no junior partners, there are only equal partners. Of course, equal partnerships, in turn, demands a sense of shared responsibility. We have obligations to each other."

He described these obligations as security for our citizens; trade and development that creates jobs, prosperity and a clean energy future; standing up for democracy and human rights.

"These are the partnerships that we can forge together -- here in the Americas but also around the world," he said.

"When countries across Latin America come together and focus on a common goal, when the United States and others in the world do our part, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish together," said President Obama.

"And that is our vision of the Americas. This is the progress we can achieve together. This is the spirit of partnership and equality to which the United States is committed. I am confident that, working together, there is nothing we cannot achieve."