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North American foreign ministers meet in Washington for pre-SPP talks

April 8, 2008
Posted by Stuart Trew

Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier met with his counterparts, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mexican Foreign Secretary Patricia Espinosa, in Washington, D.C. today “to prepare the work for a leaders meeting that will take place in New Orleans,” according to a statement.

While the individual statements of all three officials were short on details, a Canadian media advisory from April 7 described the meeting’s goal this way:

“Minister Bernier and secretaries Rice and Espinosa are meeting to discuss the upcoming North American Leaders’ Summit in New Orleans. As part of Canada’s re-engagement in the Americas, they are expected to discuss hemispheric issues and trilateral cooperation in the region. The upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and G8 summits are also expected to be on the agenda.”

Notably, Minister Bernier spent a lot of time plugging the Canada-Colombia free trade agreement, likely as a favour to the Bush administration, which is facing congressional opposition to its own pact with the Latin American country known for its brutal government-sponsored fear campaign against local unions.

Photo: Mexican Secretary of External Affairs Patricia Espinosa, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Minister Bernier. http://www.international.gc.ca/assets/fac/Bernier_Washington05_FS.JPG