Thank you, John. Welcome to the State Department. I can think of no greater honor in this building than to be introduced by John Negroponte, who for so long has set such a high standard of professional excellence for the rest of us. I am honored and humbled to follow in your footsteps as Deputy Secretary, and we are all deeply grateful for your continued efforts to advance peace and prosperity in our hemisphere.

I am delighted to address this 42nd Conference of the Council of the Americas, and on behalf of Secretary Clinton, to welcome all of you back to the State Department today. Let me emphasize at the outset what may seem like a blindingly obvious point to all of you: during this moment of tectonic political shifts elsewhere in the world, from a rising Asia-Pacific to a restive Middle East, one of the starting points for effective U.S. foreign policy in the 21st century is to focus on the enormous opportunity in our own neighborhood. Today, our engagement with Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean requires an extra measure of strategic focus, precisely because this region is so important to our shared future. Our partnerships in the Western Hemisphere are vital to our economic recovery and competitiveness, and vital to our ability to solve the transnational challenges that no one country can solve on its own.

Secretary Clinton has described how harnessing the “power of proximity” between the United States and our neighbors in the Americas is among the most strategically significant tasks in the new century opening up before us. The same is true for our neighbors, because the power of proximity runs in both directions. Working together with our partners in the region, we can harness that power to transform the Americas, which is already a community of shared history, geography, culture, and values, into a common platform for global success.

Our hemispheric partnerships are not just vital to solving our shared regional problems, they are also vital to solving global challenges and to promoting and consolidating democracy, human rights, and development around the world. We must all broaden our strategic vision of the hemisphere beyond inter-American relations to how the Americas engage with the rest of the world. The most successful countries and regions will be those that look outward, not inward. We welcome and encourage our hemispheric partners’ increasing engagement outside the Americas, as we work together to address issues like armed conflict, food security, energy security, management of water resources, and climate change.

The recent history of the Americas has proven how important democracy is to reinforcing economic progress, social inclusion, human rights, and peace – setting a powerful example to countries everywhere undertaking their own political opening and democratization. As President Obama remarked in Cartagena, “You do business well when you know that it’s a well-functioning society and that there’s a legitimate government in place that’s going to be looking out for its people.” While we deepen regional and sub-regional groupings, the countries of the Americas must never retreat from our hemisphere’s exemplary commitment to democracy. We should not use regional harmony as an excuse to lower democratic standards and commitments. Instead, governments and citizens should work in unison to protect democracy in the hemisphere, speak out forcefully whenever our democratic values are challenged, and strive continually to improve our democratic performance.

Many of you in this room are experts on the economic and political rise of the Western Hemisphere, and have helped to bring it about. Countries in the region have made remarkable progress toward consolidating democratic rule, promoting sound economic management, and encouraging greater government responsiveness and accountability. Over the last 15 years, the middle class in Latin America and the Caribbean has swelled to over 275 million people. That is almost half of the population, and it is projected to reach as much as 70 percent by 2030. Over the next five years, the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean are projected to expand by one-third. Now we all know that this progress remains uneven, and some notable exceptions persist, but on balance, the Americas today are more prosperous, freer, and better governed than at any other point in history.

We see evidence of this in dynamic markets like Brazil, now the world’s sixth largest economy. With the help of economic stability and innovative social programs, tens of millions of Brazilians have entered the middle class. The Rousseff Administration understands the importance of science, technology, and innovation to sustained, inclusive growth, and its “Science Without Borders” exchange program is a model all of us in the hemisphere should seek to emulate and support. President Rousseff’s visit to the United States and Secretary Clinton’s trip to Brazil for our third Global Partnership Dialogue demonstrate the commitment of our two countries to forge a modern partnership based on shared economic interests and democratic values. This commitment extends beyond our federal governments. During my most recent trip to Brazil earlier this spring, I was struck by the interest on the part of businesswomen and men, state level officials, academics, journalists, and civil society leaders in deepening relations with the United States.

Our relationship with Mexico has also diversified and matured as our economic links proliferate, and as the scope of the challenges we face in North America and globally has intensified. Our hallmark cooperation on security and combating violent crime is well known, but the bond between the United States and Mexico is, at its very core, an economic relationship that is central to the prosperity of both of our countries. Under NAFTA, Mexico, Canada, and the United States represent the largest free trade area in the world, linking 457 million people producing $18 trillion annually in goods and services. To expand our success, our three governments are establishing efficient 21st century borders that encourage commerce and deter illicit activities. And Mexico’s presidency of the G20 underscores its growing global leadership role, while Canada is not only our deepest bilateral relationship but a top ally in efforts around the globe.

Colombia’s successful hosting of the Summit of the Americas is another important sign of how much the hemisphere has changed. With its levels of security and economic growth, Colombia is on track to become the third Latin American member of the OECD. As President Obama noted, “Citizens are reclaiming their communities. The economy is growing… Democratic institutions are being strengthened. In Colombia today, there's hope.”

Peru, bolstered by its sound macroeconomic policy and careful management of extractive industries, has achieved unprecedented economic expansion, low inflation, and a dramatic drop in poverty rates. Chile, which led the hemisphere in liberalizing trade, has reduced poverty from 40% in 1990 to below 15% today. Panama has leveraged its strategic economic position and canal to build a booming business hub. Costa Rica is consistently ranked by researchers as among the “happiest nations in the world,” a product of its strong democracy and model health, education, and environmental policies. Trinidad and Tobago has used its natural gas revenue to become a commercial center in the Caribbean, and to develop light manufacturing and value-added agriculture.

Grouped together, the Western Hemisphere’s market of nearly a billion people has made it an energetic hub of trade and investment. Nearly half of U.S. exports stay in this hemisphere, and those exports have increased by over $200 billion in just three years. This trade supports nearly 4 million U.S. jobs. With the addition of Colombia and Panama, the United States now has trade agreements with 12 countries in the hemisphere, a network of partners that runs uninterrupted from the Arctic to Patagonia. This helps to explain why the United States exports three times as much to Latin America than to China, and why we account for one third of all foreign direct investment in the region.

When we quantify our trade, investment, and energy relationships in the region, people are often surprised. Our hemisphere supplies one-fourth of the world’s crude oil, one-third of the world’s natural gas, nearly one-fourth of its coal, over a third of global electricity, and is a leader in renewable energy. The world’s oil map is no longer centered predominantly on the Middle East, but increasingly on the Americas as well. Already, half of the United States’ oil and petroleum product imports come from right here in our hemisphere, and only one-fifth come from the Persian Gulf. Massive oil finds are being developed in Brazil, while countries like Colombia and Canada are expanding production. In February, we signed a historic trans-boundary oil agreement with Mexico. Meanwhile, new methods have unlocked huge natural gas reserves in the United States and Argentina.

Through the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas, launched by President Obama at the 2009 Summit, we have leveraged more than $150 million in U.S. government investment to support more than 40 initiatives. And at the 2012 Summit, we joined Colombia in announcing “Connect 2022,” which challenges the leaders of the Western Hemisphere to achieve universal access to electricity over the next decade by enhancing electrical interconnection. Our goal is to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to the region’s 31 million citizens who currently lack it. This is an ambitious target -- but one that is central to the hemisphere’s success and that benefits all our nations.

Now, you may have read that the United States plans to devote greater attention and resources to the broader Pacific. Indeed, we believe that this area, from India to the Americas, will be the most dynamic and significant part of the world for our interests in the coming decades. It already includes more than half of the world’s population and many of its most important economies, key allies, and emerging powers. Canada and Latin America will have an important role to play in this new Pacific architecture.

Given the economic dynamism on both sides of the Pacific, it is no surprise that Asia and the Americas have recognized each others’ potential. China has become the top recipient of commodities exports from several South American countries. Like us, many of our hemispheric colleagues are concluding trade or investment agreements with partners in Asia. We should not be alarmed by Asia’s economic interest in our hemisphere, provided the relationships are transparent and that the rules are respected. That is why Secretary Clinton met with members of the Pacific Alliance on the margins of the Cartagena Summit. This group, which includes Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru -- with Costa Rica and Panama as observers -- is looking to a Pacific future as well. Our hemispheric partners share our goal of building a trans-Pacific economic architecture for long-term, inclusive growth that is open, free, transparent, and fair.

The growing economic and political ties across the Pacific are part of a broader shift in the concept of regional integration that stretches and challenges traditional geographic concepts and bureaucratic structures. In addition to APEC, which already bridges the Pacific, the Trans Pacific Partnership is a centrally important initiative in this context. To the extent that it is able to drive a new wave of high standard, 21st century trade liberalization, TPP may be one of the most strategically significant projects of the next decade.

While the future holds great promise for the Americas, we recognize that very important challenges remain. As you will hear from other speakers, we are working to enhance citizen security and will not relent in our defense of democracy when it is threatened. Another core task is to enhance our shared capacity to educate, create, and innovate. The Americas are becoming more competitive -- but still not competitive enough to successfully meet the challenges posed by rising Asian economies. That is why education initiatives like President Rousseff’s “Science Without Borders” and President Obama’s “100,000 Strong for the Americas” are so critically important -- because they facilitate the emergence of the Western Hemisphere as a shared platform for global success.

Drawing on a shared past, the Americas have before us a bright, shared future. But it is not one that we can take for granted. Across the hemisphere, our citizens are demanding better jobs, improved social services, responsible economic management, and the freedom to live as they choose. It is the challenge of governments to be up to the task, by partnering with the private sector and civil society, demanding greater accountability from our public institutions, and working to move beyond old ideological debates to grasp our common future together.

The fundamental point I want to leave with you this morning is a message of optimism … a message about hope and possibility… a message about what the United States and the countries of the Americas can accomplish in our hemisphere and around the world when we focus on common goals and shared values. If we can deepen consensus in our hemisphere behind open, free, transparent, and fair economic competition, coupled with a commitment to democracy and social inclusion – then that will not only benefit our citizens here at home, but also will continue to show the world that free societies and open markets remain the best prescription for human progress and development.

I want to congratulate the Council of the Americas again for this important event. Thank you all for all that you do to bring the people and governments of our hemisphere closer together.