The INTER-AMERICAN ECONOMIC COUNCIL is a Non-Profit Corporation Established in August of 1999. The Purpose of the Council is to provide senior Government Officials, leading Business Executives, and Academic Professionals the opportunity to engage in a dialogue about current and future economic strategies in the Hemisphere.

MISSION STATEMENT

The MISSION of the Council is to bridge the existing gap between public and private sectors for the collateral advancement of regional economic development.

The Council recognizes that in recent times a number of international and regional organizations have articulated this need and that a few bodies have begun to serve selective areas of this requirement. It is the view of the Council however, that an overall nexus of focus and perspective between the public and private sectors has now become imperative for interrelated regional development.

The Council further believes that increasing innovation and advancement in technology strengthen the requirement for institutional policy linkages between the different sectors of national and regional planning in the interest of a wider hemispheric design. This need is perhaps most clearly evidenced in the areas of trade and the environment, tourism and services, communications and information, and education and human resource development.

The Council therefore sees the GOALS to achieve its mission as five fold:
* To raise awareness among business executives of the needs and related government policies and actions.
* To facilitate opportunities for focus and interchange by private and public sectors on the technological trends and developments and its implications for the economies of the region.
* To provide impetus for a fresh look at new theories through the input and critique of the academic members.
* To identify and promote mechanisms for public and private sector engagement regionally and sub regionally for the furtherance of informed overall regional economic development.
* To propitiate a credible political environment between private and public sector for continuing engagement.

The Mission of the Council is expressed in its logo which represents graphically interfacing circles of relationship. The Headquarters of the Council is Washington, D. C. The Council will establish two regional offices in Latin America and the Caribbean within the next two years.

ACHIEVEMENT PERSPECTIVES

The OBJECTIVES of the Council are reached through four basic mechanisms:
* Functional and continuing association by the Council with the Organization of American States through its related departments and units.
* Key meetings throughout the year by the Council with Heads of State, Trade and Finance Ministers and other senior public officials in Washington, D. C. and other related areas.
* Regional and sub regional action groupings on selected thematic questions under the aegis of the Council.
* Annual regional encounters convened by the Council between public and private sectors and civil society.

In June 2000, at the General Assembly Meeting of the Organization of American States, the Council and the Secretariat of the Organization of American States signed an agreement on cooperation. The Council is also accredited to the OAS. Through the agreement with the Secretariat and on the basis of its accreditation, the Council will work closely with the Organization's Committee on Civil Society and other bodies of the Organization.

The Centerpiece of the Council's actions will be its Annual Meeting. The Council will convene these annual encounters on the occasions of the regular sessions of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States. This signature event is convened in association with the Secretariat of the Organization of American States and the host governments of the Assembly sessions. The themes of the Meeting vary annually and is established in consultation with governments, groups of governments and private sector bodies of the region.

The Annual Meetings of the Council feature high level decision makers in the fields of international business, finance and government to examine critical issues facing the inter-American economy as the region enters the first stages of this new millennium. In collaboration with other actors of the region the Council will attempt to develop new directions and concrete policy prescriptions. The occasions of the Annual Meetings provides the participants as investors in the region, with unprecedented access to policymakers and insights into the business environment of the Hemisphere as it undergoes fundamental change.