North American Partnership

The North American Partnership&mdash;a forerunner to the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and the creation of a North American Union&mdash;was developed through the trilateral meetings of U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Mexican Foreign Secretary Rosario Green, and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy. The first two meetings were held in New York City in September 1998 and September 1999. The third and final meeting was held August 11-12, 2000, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

1999
At the September 1999 meeting, "the three ministers released the Framework Statement" in which they "identified civil society as an area where much more can be done to take advantage of the growing synergies that North American interconnectedness has generated." 

"The ministers agreed that there is great merit in further developing the North American vision. They agreed to produce a road map on the status of the North American Partnership and to suggest future directions by the time of their next meeting at the United Nations General Assembly. They also agreed on the importance of expanding the government-to-government and people-to-people networks. In this regard, they supported the idea of convening a conference of diverse leaders in different fields from the three countries to examine ways of advancing this important partnership in the coming years."

News Releases

 * "U.S.-Canada-Mexico Trilateral Meeting," Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Government of Canada, September 21, 1999.
 * "Trilateral Ministerial Meeting Communique," Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Government of Canada, August 12, 2000.

Articles & Reports

 * "The North American Partnership," U.S., Canada and Mexico Trilateral Ministerial, Sante Fe (New Mexico), August 11-12, 2000. (Posted by Embassy of the United States of America, Ottawa.) Includes links to archived documents.
 * "Tri-national meeting a tribue to NAMI," The North American Institute News, Summer/Fall 2000.
 * Marcela Celorio, "Working Paper: The North American 'Security and Prosperity Partnership': An Evaluation," Center for North American Studies, American University, March 28, 2006.