30 April 2007

 

     

 

Building on the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and accomplishment that has characterized the relationship among Canada, Mexico and the United States and which is embodied in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), we the Ministers responsible for Transportation in North America, have met this day in Tucson, Arizona in order to confirm and advance our commitment to developing coordinated, compatible and interconnected national transportation systems. …

 

            We recognize that real economic benefits in North America result from open and fair trade, transparency in economic regulations, and sound, market-based economic policies, including appropriate regulatory frameworks, and genuine, innovative partnerships between the public and private sectors. We are convinced of the important role that a safe, efficient, well-integrated, and accessible transportation system with minimized environmental impact plays in the growth of trade of our nations and in the health and wellbeing of our citizens. We believe that actions to facilitate commerce across our borders in all modes of transport, especially in road transport, will improve supply chain and logistics processes and provide for continued North American competitiveness. In this regard, we recognize a need for adequate transportation infrastructure and efficient transportation services within and between our countries.

 

            Building on our strong cooperative spirit, we have agreed on several core objectives to guide our future work. These are: 1) to continue to improve the safety, security, and efficiency of North American transportation systems, including gateways, 2) to ensure the adoption of new technologies and procedures, and investments in infrastructure improvements, 3) to improve intermodal connections, and 4) to expand the capacity of our freight and passenger transportation systems in partnership with other stakeholders, while minimizing transportation's effect on the environment.

 

NEXT STEPS

 

            … Accordingly, we commit ourselves to beginning a process that, during the next ten years, will achieve the following specific outcomes, linked to the above objectives:

 

Aviation Cooperation

 

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