ATLANTA…. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter issued an open letter today inviting Latin Americans to consider making Atlanta the headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin read President Carter's letter at a meeting of Latin American business leaders in Quito, Ecuador.
"If the countries of the Western Hemisphere decide that it would benefit them to locate the headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the United States, the city of Atlanta would be delighted to offer its support to the hemisphere by hosting that body," President Carter said in the letter.
His letter also challenged business leaders to help end poverty, noting that "enlightened leadership from the business community will be essential to assure that trade promotion is accompanied by a proper distribution of economic growth so that we may reduce inequality and remedy poverty in our countries."
President Carter is a strong advocate for improved inter-American relations. As governor of Georgia he convened a meeting of the Organization of American States in Atlanta, and as president, he personally attended each annual meeting of the OAS and negotiated the return of the Panama Canal to that country.
After leaving office, President Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded The Carter Center, which has observed 18 elections in Latin American countries and currently has a project to help high school students in Ecuador prevent corruption.
The Carter Center is a not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization dedicated to waging peace, fighting disease, and building hope worldwide. The Center has improved the quality of life for people in more than 65 countries through projects to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.
An Open Letter of Invitation to the Americas
October 30, 2002
(Click here for Spanish version.)
The countries of the Western Hemisphere are growing more closely linked now than at any time in history. They have longstanding covenants in place to promote mutual security and in recent years have expressed their shared values for democracy and transparency through new international agreements. The region's leaders meet regularly in Summits that have produced important commitments, such as the Free Trade Area of the Americas and the Democracy Charter.
Throughout my term in office I sought to strengthen inter-American relations through my negotiation of the Panama Canal Treaties, visits to Latin America, and efforts to improve relations with Cuba. My hope is that the region will build on its common interests to reach agreement on a Free Trade Area of the Americas by 2005, as the member countries have committed to do. Enlightened leadership from the business community will be essential to assure that trade promotion is accompanied by a proper distribution of the benefits of economic growth so that we may reduce inequality and remedy poverty in our countries.
I live in Georgia, which lies in the southern United States and has a deep tradition of hospitality. I invite you to visit our state, not just to do business but to linger awhile and immerse yourself in our culture and get to know our people. I come from the town of Plains, Georgia, which has just 713 residents and where my family has lived since the 1830s. We would also welcome you there, with the warmth and companionship for which the South is known. Ours is a region with strong literary traditions and graceful natural landscapes that have inspired some of my books. Georgia is less hurried than other parts of the United States, so you might find time to sit on the front porch in a rocking chair sipping a cool drink with friends and neighbors, a scene that is repeated every Sunday in many towns across Latin America. Moments like these will make your visit personally meaningful in a way that resort tourism simply cannot match.
Atlanta is a city that grew up as a commercial and trade center at the crossroads of major railway routes and highways, and now has the busiest airport in the world. It serves as the headquarters of many large and small corporations that are reaching out to every corner of the world. During my term as Governor of Georgia in the 1970's, I and members of my administration led business delegations to many countries in Latin America. The companies that call Georgia home were just starting then to discover the significant business opportunities in our hemisphere outside our own borders, and now international trade is an everyday part of life in Atlanta and across Georgia.
If the countries of the Western Hemisphere decide that it would benefit them to locate the headquarters for the Free Trade Area of the Americas in the United States, the city of Atlanta would be delighted to offer its support to the hemisphere by hosting that body. During my term as Governor I convened a meeting of the Organization of American States in Atlanta, and personally attended each annual meeting of the OAS when I was President. The city of Atlanta has hosted the Olympic Games and become the headquarters for such international organizations as CNN and CARE.
Atlanta is the home of the Carter Center, and the permanent headquarters for The Council of Presidents and Prime Ministers of the Americas. Thirty-five of us leaders comprise this organization. I and other Georgians would welcome you and will work with enthusiasm and sensitivity to strengthen inter-American relations, to the benefit of every citizen in the hemisphere.
Jimmy Carter
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