Rice Meets Latin
American Ministers On
Regional Development
Panama -
U.S. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice met
ministers from 13 Latin
American countries and
Canada here on Wednesday
for the first "Pathway
to Prosperity"
ministerial meeting of
the region.
Launched in September by
U.S. President Bush and
leaders of Canada and 10
Latin American
countries, the "Pathway
to Prosperity"
initiative aims to bring
the benefits of economic
development to the
poorest and most
vulnerable, local media
said.
At what is likely to be
Rice's last major
meeting in Latin America
as secretary of state,
she said she was honored
to work with the
ministers for a "more
prosperous and fair
hemisphere."
"I know the problems
this hemisphere is
facing are difficult,
but I also recognize the
compromise of each one
of the ministers for the
hemisphere to be more
just and prosperous,"
Rice said.
The U.S. state secretary
also called on the
ministers to maintain
their support for free
trade despite the
ongoing financial
crisis.
"Free trade and open
markets remain the
surest way to economic
growth," she said.
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