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2000 has been an exciting and productive year for the Inter-American Dialogue. The highlights were the third meeting of the Sol M. Linowitz Forum on June 15 to 18, which brought our full membership together for the 13th time since the Dialogue was established in 1982, and the release of our policy report, which made recommendations to the new U.S. administration on hemispheric policy.
The Sol M. Linowitz Forum opened with a reception hosted by the Permanent Mission of Canada to the OAS, with Canadian Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy offering the keynote speech. Private briefings on Washington’s policies toward the hemisphere were held for members and guests with key policymakers, including White House Special Envoy for the Americas Buddy MacKay, Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Leon Fuerth, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative Peter Allgeier, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Andrew Berg, and senior staff for Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) Roger Noriega. Following the briefings, Dialogue members and guests engaged in two days of off-therecord deliberations at the Airlie House in Virginia on the most important issues in hemispheric affairs: U.S. priorities in the hemisphere, Latin America’s mixed economic performance, and the quality of democracy and political leadership in the region. The group also issued a statement endorsing OAS efforts to restore democratic legitimacy in Peru.
