Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2024

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Christopher J. Dodd, the United States' Special Presidential Advisor (SPA) for the Americas, arrived in Costa Rica on Tuesday for his third meeting with President Rodrigo Chaves-Robles in around seven months.

Dodd is focused on planning for the next Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity Summit, which will be hosted by Costa Rica in 2025, according to the U.S. embassy.

The Presidential Advisor's agenda includes a meeting with members of President Chaves' cabinet to discuss the summit's specifics, which are part of the commitments made by U.S. President Joe Biden at the inaugural Americas Partnership Leaders' Summit in November 2023.

 

Additional U.S. officials meeting with President Chaves include Daniel Erikson (Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council), Lisa Kubiske (Senior Coordinator for the Americas Partnership at the Department of State Ambassador) and Kevin Sullivan, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

 

The Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity's founding countries are Barbados, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the United States and Uruguay. 

The alliance is a U.S. economic initiative with five thematic pillars: reinvigorating regional economic institutions and mobilizing investment, building more resilient supply chains, updating the basic bargain, creating clean energy jobs, advancing decarbonization and biodiversity, and ensuring sustainable and inclusive trade.

This is Dodd's third meeting with President Chaves. In January, he met Chaves as part of his duties for the Americas Partnership Summit.

In Dec. 2022, Dodd and Chaves met on Costa Rica's participation in the summit.

In Nov. 2022, Chris Dodd was appointed as Special Presidential Advisor for the Americas, according to the U.S. Department of State.

Dodd serves following up on his role as Special Advisor for the Ninth Summit of the Americas that was held in Los Angeles, U.S.A.

He helps advance the implementation of key initiatives President Biden announced at the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, such as spanning economic cooperation, migration, health, human rights, food security, as well as other priorities.

Dodd also supports the work currently being done by Vice President Harris, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, USAID, and others.

He has decades of public service, starting as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic and on the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee in the Western Hemisphere.

The U.S. Special Presidential Advisor is one of many top key U.S. executives visiting Costa Rica recently. To promote Colorado’s agriculture, geothermal and small business sectors, Jared Polis, the Governor of the U.S. State of Colorado visited Costa Rica in April.

  

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What additional high-ranking U.S. officials should visit Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com