The Inter-American Telecommunication Commission held its XIV Meeting of the Permanent Executive Committee -COM/CITEL- in Buenos Aires, Argentina from November 30 to December 3, 2004. Topics dealt were, among others, the Preparation for the IV Summit of the Americas to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on November 2005; the groundwork for the Regional Meeting on the World-wide Conference of Development in Telecommunications (CMDT), which will take place in Lima, Peru in August 2005; the creation of a site on telecommunications in indigenous regions throughout America; and the follow-up of the governance work in the internet. The XV COM/CITEL Meeting will be held in Washington DC on June 1-3, 2005. 

To see the Report on Follow-Up of the Summit of the Americas Mandates, submitted by the Secretariat of CITEL, please click here. 

For more information, please click here to go to the CITEL webpage.

The Third Regular Assembly of the Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) was held on August 12-16, 2002, at the OAS Headquarters in Washington, D.C.  The weeklong meeting engaged countries in a wide-ranging discussion of issues as well as the programming and organization of the work of CITEL for the coming year.  Topics on the table included the preparation of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), as well as the establishment of CITEL’s Permanent Consultative Committees.  With respect to the Quebec City Summit mandated Agenda for Connectivity, countries decided to circulate the document, along with the Quito Plan of Action, for further consideration.  The two documents form the basis for countries response to the mandate on Connectivity from the Quebec City Summit Plan of Action.

The Assembly also issued the Declaration of Washington, which serves as the guide for the future endeavors of CITEL.

The Assembly was preceded by a day and a half-long Forum of Senior Telecommunications Officials who discussed critical issues to be addressed by the telecommunications community in the Americas, including the Agenda for Connectivity in the Americas, the Quito Action plan, and the WSIS.

For more information on telecommunications activities, please click here.

On July 26 and 27, 2002, the Second Meeting of Presidents of South America was held in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The "Guayaquil Consensus on Integration, Security and Infrastructure for Development" will take concrete steps towards the physical integration of the continent. The document "Iniciativa para la Integración de la Infraestructura Regional Suramericana" (Spanish only) includes proposals such as the construction of road and waterways and announces the creation of a "multimodal Amazonian" axis, which will allow communications between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The multilateral credit agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) have shown great interest in these projects. Also, the Summit will define an Andean interconnection system, which will signify the savings of billions of dollars per year for the region.

The Presidents also ratified the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA), a plan that includes the activation of 162 projects of transportation, energy and telecommunication, with some already in progress. This plan includes an initial investment of $2 billion in the first two years.

For more information on the achievements presented at the Meeting, through a report that includes the identification of 162 projects on transportation, energy and telecommunications, please click here. (Spanish only).

For more information on the Second Summit of South American Presidents please click here.

On August 20-24, 2001, the VIII Meeting of the Coordination Committee of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) met in Washington, DC.  After the meeting, the President of COM/CITEL, José Pileggi, spoke to the Permanent Council of the OAS on the development of a Connectivity Agenda for the Americas within the framework of the mandates emanating from the Quebec City Summit of the Americas. 

The following telecommunication issues were generated for CITEL’s consideration:

• Environment regulation;

• Human Resource Development;

• Infrastructure/access/costs;

• Applications; and

• Resources for Member States.

In order to confront these issues, CITEL has adopted a series of strategies with a view towards establishing the Connectivity Agenda.  Those strategies involve the following points:

• Establish a forum for the exchange of experiences and the construction of a knowledge-base on the Americas, which would involve both administrative and private sector participation.

• Act as facilitator between regional and international telecommunications organizations and development and credit institutions.

• Optimize resources to avoid the duplication of initiatives in order to improve infrastructure, which will help governments eliminate the digital divide.

• Raise awareness and promote the generation of mandates from governments so that a telecommunications policy is established through a national agenda for connectivity.

• Determination of the region’s priorities in developing and implementing a cooperation program for the establishment of the hemispheric Connectivity Agenda, in accordance with Quebec City Summit mandates.

For more information on CITEL activities, please see its Web page, located here.

The VI meeting of the Executive Board of the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) was held in Managua, Nicaragua from December 1st to 3rd 2004. By CECIP/Res.16, the Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) Secretariat was instructed to prepare a text representing the opinion of the member countries to be submitted to the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI) Secretariat and, ultimately, to the Secretariat of the Summit of the Americas for possible inclusion in its final declaration. Dateline for reception of members’ suggestions is February 27, 2005. For more information, please visit www.oas.org/cip

On September 9 to 13, 2003, 27 Members States of the OAS attended the III Meeting of the Inter-American Committee on Ports in Merida, Mexico.  The meeting convened high-level porting authorities from each state to design cooperative strategies and policies to move forward the development and modernization of ports in the Americas within the context of port security, which formed the central theme of the meeting.

The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) agreed to hold a Conference on Hemispheric Port Security in February 2004 with the aim of carrying out an analysis of the current state of ports and in which the needs of each State will be outlined.  This will be executed while being aware of the self-evaluation of ports by States and the preparation of contingency plans.  Also, the Committee expressed approval for the continuation of the work conducted by the Technical Advisory Group on Port Security.  Based on the findings of this work, the Committee will establish eight regional courses which will be led by security technicians around the Hemisphere and distributed by language and region.  Moreover, the program of alliances amongst friendly ports will be developed with the objective of facilitating the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences and also, to generate best practices.

The meeting produced the Plan of Action 2004-2007 of the CIP, which set out specific aims and standards to be met by ports in the Americas and priority areas, resulting in the following recommendations: the improvement and modernization of ports, the development of control mechanisms amongst States, the protection of the environment, the development of ports for tourism and greater international cooperation.

The meeting concluded with the election of the 15 new members of the Executive Committee of the CIP, to be chaired by Mexico and with the Vice Presidency held by the United States.  For more information, please click here. 

The V Meeting of the Ministers of Transportation was held in Ixtapa, México from May 8 to 9, 2003.  The Ministers briefly revised the work of the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI), recalling that this process derives from the Summits of the Americas, and highlighting the advances made since the last meeting held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, in March 2001.

A Transportation Forum gave Ministers an opportunity to have a discussion on the following issues: security in transportation, new proposals for financing of transportation, the environment and transportation, and multimodal networks and hemispheric integration.  At the end of the meeting a discussion was held on priorities and future work of the WHTI.  Ministers agreed that one of the priority areas is security in all means of transportation, and that they would continue to work on the following previously established priorities: action plan for integration; transport statistics system for the Americas; disaster response plan; compendium of safety and incident response best practices; best practices report on transportation infrastructure financing; capacity-building seminars; information exchange on transportation technologies; conference on the effects of the year 2000 computer problem on transportation systems throughout the region.  Also, Ministers agreed that it is important to work with international financial institutions in order to obtain more financing for countries.  The Ministers expressed their interest in the need to actively involve all governments in this process.

At the end of the meeting, the Ministers approved a Ministerial Declaration through which they reaffirmed the commitments taken in the previous meeting and recognized that their continued progress will contribute to the objectives established by the Heads of State and Government in the Quebec City Summit of the Americas.  The Ministers also committed themselves to work together in order to move their work forward in the following areas:

• Promotion of security and protection in the region - Ministers agreed to evaluate alternative for strengthening cooperation  in port and maritime security, working with relevant international organizations  such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the OAS Inter-American Committee on Ports (ICP);

• Transportation and the Environment –  the Ministers asked countries to give the highest priority to passing maritime legislation that includes IMO standards;

• Initiatives to encourage  the development of transportation infrastructure – the WHTI Executive Committee was  charged with working with the international financial institutions to elaborate innovative financing mechanisms;

• Challenges of intermodality and hemispheric integration.  The Ministers requested the WHTI Executive Committee work to advance the role of intermodalism as a means to accelerate hemispheric integration, and to inform the next Ministerial meeting, to take place in Brazil in 2005, of the results of their efforts.

For more information, please visit the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI) website.

The Fourth Meeting of the Executive Board of the Inter-American Committee on Ports was held on December 3-7, 2002 in Montevideo, Uruguay. Over 100 officials, executives, experts, and academics from 22 countries and international organizations involved in the port sector of the Americas and Spain met to cover a broad CIP work program of that OAS forum.

The Committee adopted its work plan for 2003, which included training activities to be implemented, regional courses on security to be given in the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Peru, and Barbados; courses on port engineering and management to be given in Spain, the new management course in Miami, seminars on port tariffs to be given with UNCTAD, fellowships for the Master’s degree course in Valencia, and management programs at the University of New Orleans. There was also support for the holding of the Ibero-American Meeting on Port Technology Exchange, to be held in Brazil.

Progress in the area of the Cooperation and Mutual Assistance Agreement between Inter-American Port Authorities was also discussed. Duly accredited delegates of El Salvador and Nicaragua signed this agreement in Montevideo. Thus far, 13 countries have signed this instrument, which will help boost bilateral and multilateral cooperation for the port development among the countries of the Hemisphere.

The Committee also decided to strengthen ties with the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative (WHTI), the body proposing sectoral initiatives to the Summit of the Americas.

On October 28-29, 2002, the Fifth Executive Committee Meeting of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative took place at the Inter-American Development Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC. This was the last meeting to be chaired by Canada, which is being replaced as Chair of the Committee by Brazil.

The purpose of the meeting was to consider status reports on institutional cooperation in the hemisphere to date with regards to specific topics, as well as to begin planning for the upcoming Meeting of Ministers of Transportation. In this regard, discussions focused on possible agenda items, private sector participation, preparation of a Ministerial Declaration and logistical issues.

The Inter-American Committee on Ports (CIP) is supporting a set of regional courses on Port Security Training, which have been organized by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) and financed by the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development (IACD). Civil employees from throughout the Americas are asked to participate in these courses, where they will learn about the security of loading, the control of the illicit trafficking of drugs in ports, the adequate management of dangerous loads, the prevention of terrorism, stowaways, and other criminal activities that are of serious risk for port operations.

On July 22-26, 2002, the first of these courses was offered in Bridgetown, Barbados, for the English-speaking Caribbean region. Additional courses are expected to be held in the Andean region, on August 19-23, 2002, the Southern Cone, in December, 2002, as well as in Central America.

On July 26 and 27, 2002, the Second Meeting of Presidents of South America was held in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The "Guayaquil Consensus on Integration, Security and Infrastructure for Development" will take concrete steps towards the physical integration of the continent. The document "Iniciativa para la Integración de la Infraestructura Regional Suramericana" (Spanish only) includes proposals such as the construction of road and waterways and announces the creation of a "multimodal Amazonian" axis, which will allow communications between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The multilateral credit agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) have shown great interest in these projects. Also, the Summit will define an Andean interconnection system, which will signify the savings of billions of dollars per year for the region.

The Presidents also ratified the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA), a plan that includes the activation of 162 projects of transportation, energy and telecommunication, with some already in progress. This plan includes an initial investment of $2 billion in the first two years.

For more information on the achievements presented at the Meeting, through a report that includes the identification of 162 projects on transportation, energy and telecommunications, please click here. (Spanish only).

For more information on the Second Summit of South American Presidents please click here.

On May 13-14, 2002, the Fourth Executive Committee Meeting of the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative (WHTI) took place in Brasília, Brazil.  The meeting, which addressed such issues as Aviation Safety and Security, Institutional Cooperation, Trade Interchange Routes, Knowledge Networks and Transportation and the Environment, included presentations by Brazil, Mexico, the Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI) and the UN Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).  To see many of these presentations, as well as the agenda and the decision record from this meeting, please click here.

On December 4, 2001, the Executive Committee of the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative met in Washington D.C. At the meeting the delegates discussed reports in areas of Disaster Response and Reduction of Transportation Infrastructure Vulnerability, Aviation Safety and Security, Institutional Cooperation, Commercial Arteries, Knowledge Network, Transportation and the Environment. The relationship of the WHTI to the Summit of the Americas was also discussed, with an emphasis placed on follow up of the Initiative. The Director of the Office of Summit Follow Up made a presentation informing the delegates about the Summit Process and follow up and implementation of various mandates, as well as the relationship between different ministerial meetings. In this regard, it was made clear that the Ministers of Transportation are entrusted with the implementation of mandates relating to Transportation, through WHTI.

The President of the Executive Committee, Ted Cherrett, made known the interest of CARICOM countries in participating at WHTI meetings. Other subregional bodies, including the CAF and ALADI, also expressed interest. Furthermore, Mr. Cherrett announced that the next ministerial meeting will take place in Mexico in 2003. More details on the meeting can be found at the following address www.transport-americas.org

The Unit for Sustainable Development and the Environment of the Organization of American States held roundtable meetings in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras on the 17^th, 20^th and 27^th of July, 2001, respectively, as well as Guatemala and Panamá on the 12^th and 14^th of September, 2001. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss follow up to the implementation of Mechanisms for Mutual Assistance in Case of Damage and Vulnerability Reduction of Transportation Infrastructure in Central America. The meetings convened on the basis of the Declaration from the Transportation Ministerial held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on March 15-16, 2001, as well as the Executive Committee on Proceedings of the Western Hemispheric Transportation Initiative, which also convened in Punta del Este, Uruguay, on March 16, 2001. For a full list of participants (Spanish only) please click here. For details on the roundtable meetings (Spanish only), please click here. 

On September 24, 2001, the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative will hold its Executive Committee Meeting in Montreal, Canada, during which it will discuss a variety of topics, including management issues, institutional cooperation, trade interchange routes and transport and the environment, among others.  For more information on this meeting, please see its annotated agenda.  

The creation of the Western Hemisphere Transport Initiative was mandated at the Second Summit of the Americas, and it serves as a forum for the convergence and cooperation of the Ministers of Transport from throughout the region.  Information on this initiative can be found at its Web site: http://www.transport-americas.org.

On July 26 and 27, 2002, the Second Meeting of Presidents of South America was held in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador. The "Guayaquil Consensus on Integration, Security and Infrastructure for Development" will take concrete steps towards the physical integration of the continent. The document "Iniciativa para la Integración de la Infraestructura Regional Suramericana" (Spanish only) includes proposals such as the construction of road and waterways and announces the creation of a "multimodal Amazonian" axis, which will allow communications between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The multilateral credit agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) have shown great interest in these projects. Also, the Summit will define an Andean interconnection system, which will signify the savings of billions of dollars per year for the region.

The Presidents also ratified the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA), a plan that includes the activation of 162 projects of transportation, energy and telecommunication, with some already in progress. This plan includes an initial investment of $2 billion in the first two years.

For more information on the achievements presented at the Meeting, through a report that includes the identification of 162 projects on transportation, energy and telecommunications, please click here. (Spanish only).

For more information on the Second Summit of South American Presidents please click here.