On April 14, U.S. secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, Mexican foreign secretary Patricia Espinosa, and Canadian foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier met, as they do regularly, to discuss trilateral issues. The three leaders also set the agenda for the New Orleans summit.
This is a transcript of the press conference held at the meeting's conclusion.
Rice and her counterparts used familiar language to describe the SPP. Rice said that it "has been a very useful mechanism for organizing the multifaceted work that Canada, the United States and Mexico undertake together, " and "it also has permitted the leaders to engage the public [and] the private sector and civil society through the North American Competitiveness Council."
That engagement with the NACC includes 30 corporations -- 10 from each partner country. Interestingly, the NDP has engaged the general public by holding hearings across Canada.
Bernier spoke about the SPP as well, but he quickly switched gears, talking about the importance of a free-trade deal with Colombia: " It is important for Colombia, it is important for Canadians, and we want to be sure that entrepreneurs from Colombia will be able to sell their goods to Canadians and vice versa.
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