First-ever Summit of North American Governors and Premiers to be Held in October

First-ever Summit of North American Governors and Premiers to be Held in October

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:

COF: Lindsay de Leeuw, 613-851-5978, [email protected]
NGA: Jodi Omear, 202-624-5346, [email protected]
CONAGO: Ariel Moutsatsos-Morales, 202-728-1650, [email protected]

February 4, 2015

OTTAWA—The National Governors Association (NGA) of the United States, the Council of the Federation (COF) of Canada and the National Conference of Governors (CONAGO) of Mexico today announced the inaugural Summit of North American Governors and Premiers will be held October 30-31 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States of America. The summit will be attended by U.S. and Mexican governors and Canadian premiers.

The goal of the summit is to promote and advance cooperation by the leaders of North America, a continent that generates a combined gross domestic product of nearly USD$20 trillion per year with a population of more than 475 million. Specifically, the summit will focus on promoting economic development and trade through improvements and innovations in infrastructure and supply chain management, education, energy technology and culture.

“The North American Summit provides a forum to discuss shared issues of importance to all our citizens, including jobs, innovation and trade,” said Paul Davis, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador and incoming Chair of the Council of the Federation. “Working together to expand trade and further develop international relations is an important priority of Canada’s Premiers.”

“This summit provides an invaluable opportunity to discuss job creation and develop new economic opportunities that will benefit all three countries in the future,” said NGA Chair and summit host Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper. “Governors of the United States are committed to providing a meaningful dialogue with our North American partners, and I am honored to host the first of these meetings.”

Governor Jorge Herrera Caldera, president of the CONAGO, said that international cooperation has become an effective tool for promoting development, building business alliances and promoting better opportunities for economic growth and employment. "The Summit of North America will be a platform to promote trade, open attractive routes for investments and strengthen the brotherhood and solidarity among nations,” he said.

Ambassador of Canada to the United States Gary Doer and Ambassador of Mexico to the United States Eduardo Medina Mora will host a reception during the NGA Winter Meeting to celebrate the inaugural summit.

Details, including specific discussion topics, will be released later this year.

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