On April 10-11, 2015 in Panama City, Panama the Heads of State and Government of the Americas addressed the Seventh Summit’s central theme, “Prosperity with Equity: The Challenge of Cooperation in the Americas". Sub-themes included education, health, energy, environment, migration, security, citizen participation and democratic governance. The Summit, which occurs every three years, offers the opportunity for countries to jointly define a hemispheric agenda at the highest level to address urgent challenges and propel positive change.
The Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie, M.P., Prime Minister of the Bahamas, addressed Summit delegates on April 11. He spoke on a variety of topics, including migration, client change, development financing and youth delinquency, issues impacting The Americas generally. Of these and other issues and mandates discussed during the course of the Summit, he said “Let’s commit ourselves today to finding and implementing solutions. There has been too much talk. There is enough talk. Let’s get to work in finding, crafting and executing the solutions.” Prime Minister Christie emphasised, *”Our collective will to work together has the capacity to transform the hemisphere into The Americas that we want.”
At the Closing Ceremony, Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela Rodriguez issued a statement on the outcomes. He noted that the Summit was an “historic” event, thanks to the presence for the first time, of Cuba. “The decision announced by the Presidents of Cuba and the United States to move forward with a new approach to the relations between their countries created a legitimate expectation that situations, both old and new, that have made for tense hemispheric relations can be resolved,” he said. "This Summit has built bridges in that direction.”
President Varela also noted that Panama believes the vast number of mandates on which agreement was reached can and must be overseen by the institutions of the inter-American system and other international agencies. "Our government will be conveying the mandates agreed on to the directors of the IDB, the World Bank, CAF, and other multilateral financial institutions, so funding and technical assistance can be provided. And the same steps must also be taken with other multilateral organizations, such as the OAS, ECLAC, and PAHO."
The Summit of the Americas is a continuing series of summits bringing together the leaders of the Americas. In Panama it was also determined that the VIII Summit of the Americas will be held in Lima, Peru in 2018.
Statement - Summit of the Americas 2015