Summit of the Americas

The Summit of the Americas process (Summit process) is an institutionalized set of meetings at the highest level of government decision-making in the Western Hemisphere. The purpose of the meetings (Summits) is to discuss common issues and seek solutions to problems shared by all the countries in the Americas, be they economic, social or political in nature.

The process has both political principles and institutional elements. The political principles of the process dictate that the process shall include the 34 democratic nations of the Americas, who operate with free market economies, conduct multilateral international negotiations and who reach decisions by consensus. The institutional elements are the mechanisms and bodies in charge of the process, decision-making, implementation and follow-up.