Los Angeles will host this year’s Summit of the Americas, which takes place every three years as an opportunity for the leaders of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean to meet, the White House announced Tuesday.
The summit, which will be held in June, will focus on “Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future” in the Americas.
“Los Angeles has a rich history of bringing the world together to share ideas and celebrate what we all have in common as members of the global community,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement.
“With our deep cultural and economic ties throughout the hemisphere, L.A. is the perfect host for this gathering, and we know this gathering will benefit our communities and our local economy. I am grateful to the Biden Administration for selecting our bid, and I’m thrilled to welcome the Summit to our city.”
The United States has not hosted the summit since its inaugural meeting in Miami in 1994. This year’s summit, which is the ninth of its kind, was originally scheduled for 2021 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Los Angeles submitted a bid to host the summit in September. Garcetti’s office Tuesday noted that Los Angeles has the largest Latino population in the U.S. — as well as numerous diaspora populations — the third-busiest airport in the world, the busiest port in the Western Hemisphere and the third-largest consular corps in the world.
It added that the summit would provide a boost to Los Angeles’ hospitality industry by bringing people from around the hemisphere to area.
According to the U.S. State Department’s website, the meeting promotes regional cooperation and helps address the region’s most pressing issues, including increasing economic competitiveness, enhancing access to technology, countering trafficking and promoting democracy and human rights throughout the Americas.
During the most recent summit — which was held in Peru in 2018 — the region’s leaders committed to fighting corruption, according to the U.S. State Department.
The White House said Tuesday it would work with Mayor Eric Garcetti and Gov. Gavin Newsom to convene the region’s leaders and stakeholders in the city for the summit.
