Statement by the Press Secretary on the North American Leaders’ Summit

On April 2, 2012, President Obama will host Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada and President Felipe Calderon of Mexico for the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) in Washington, DC.  This meeting will build on wide-ranging and ongoing cooperation among the United States, Canada, and Mexico with a particular focus on economic growth and competitiveness, citizen security, energy, and climate change.  The leaders will also discuss North America’s role in the Americas in anticipation of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia later in April, as well as other global economic, political, and security issues. 

The last North American Leaders’ Summit was hosted by President Calderon in Guadalajara in August 2009.  The previously scheduled NALS, to have been hosted by President Obama in November 2011, was postponed following the tragic death of Mexican Secretary of Government Francisco Blake Mora.