For Immediate Release
January 12, 2004

Global Message

From a press briefing by NSA Rice, 1/9/04

President and Mrs. Bush will travel Monday to Monterrey, Mexico for the special Summit of the Americas.

The President will meet with the other democratically elected leaders from the region to build on the progress we have made in strengthening democracy and promoting greater prosperity in the hemisphere.

The leaders will discuss:

• Their commitment and support to economic growth, especially as it pertains to the private sector and small business;
• Ways to reduce the level of poverty in the hemisphere;
• How to improve the lives of citizens, specifically focusing on education; and
• How to address critical health issues, such as the pandemic of AIDS.

The President, meeting in a hemisphere where only one country -- Cuba -- remains uncommitted to the principles of democracy, will be able to remind his fellow leaders of the benefit of free and open markets, open societies, and the importance of transparent elections.

President Bush will also emphasize the need for countries to fight corruption and to consider concrete actions against those corrupt individuals who seek safe haven in their countries. Efforts to fight corruption will help strengthen democracy in the hemisphere.