The United States will work to create private sector opportunities in Latin America and do more to address the immediate and long-term causes of migration, according to US Vice President Kamala Harris.

Speaking at an event organized by the New York-headquartered Council of the Americas on Tuesday, Harris said that the fate of the US and the rest of the Western Hemisphere are "intertwined".

"This is especially true of Latin America, one of our fastest growing trade partners," she said. "But our relationship is bigger than trade. Our relationship is incredibly complex and incredibly complicated."

"Latin Americans are shaping their own future. They're writing their own story. They hold the pen," she added. "Our role is to read those words, take them in, and help however we can."

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In the short-term, Harris said that one of the primary US objectives in the region is stabilizing the Northern Triangle countries of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, from where hundreds of thousands of migrants have left to travel north to the US this year alone.

US President Joe Biden has tasked Harris with leading US efforts in Mexico and the Northern Triangle. In late April she unveiled an additional $310 million in US aid to Central America after meeting with Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei.

"The citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are leaving their homes at an alarming rate," she said. "But there is a fundamental truth behind that headline: people in the region do not want to leave their homes...I do believe they only leave when they must."

In her remarks, Harris said that the US is aiming to address both the "acute" causes of migration - such as hurricanes, drought and food security - as well as long-standing issues such as poverty, violence, corruption and weak government institutions.

 The citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are leaving their homes at an alarming rate

As part of these wider efforts, Harris said that she will simultaneously engage Latin American governments, community organizations and the private sector in both the US and in Central America.

"We must think beyond government...every sector has a role to play," she said. "I've been engaging with businesses and business leaders in the United States about their interest in investing in the region, and the barriers that stand in their way."

"Private sector investment can create jobs, and speed up progress," she added.

Empowering Latin American Business

Harris' comments were echoed by Reina Irene Mejía, the Executive Vice President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), who said that economic equality across the region has been significantly worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Latin America is experiencing three crises - public health, economic crises and inequality," she said. "The poor, and the most vulnerable, have been affected the most."

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Among the most impacted, she added, are women across the region. The United Nations has estimated that the pandemic has caused a setback of more than a decade in terms of labor participation in the region.

"At the IDB we are committed to reactivating and configuring female employment," she said, adding that the organization is working with the Latin American private sector to create incentives to hire women. "This will be key to the post-pandemic recovery."

Mejía added that it will be key to "create an atmosphere of business" that will help shift supply chains from Asia to Latin America. 

At the IDB we are committed to reactivating and configuring female employment

"[We need to have] rule of law, transparency, and invest in the value chain," she said. "We're talking about going to big companies...the biggest multinational companies in the US have committed to us to help and support development...we need to strengthen the small and medium-sized enterprises."

‘We face a huge challenge'

Another speaker, current US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, noted that the United States trades twice as much with the countries of the Americas as it does with China, and exports more to its neighbors in the Western Hemisphere as it does with all the countries of Asia combined.

However, she said that the region faces a "huge challenge" in working together to deliver prosperity and jobs to its citizens.

"Our best success lies in working together to address these challenges," she said. "The private sector has a role to play."

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As Commerce Secretary, Raimondo said that she sees her role as taking the "advice" of the private sector with regards to trade in the region, as well as work to create conditions under which companies and entrepreneurs can drive economic growth and compete in the region.

"We have to commit ourselves to transparency," she said. "It really hurts trade and commerce if there's a view that competition isn't fair, that there isn't transparency or that that are discriminatory regulations or unfair, or corrupt policies."

"It's very important that we work to support transparency and a level playing field," Raimondo added.

Raimondo also said that the US sees "partnership with our allies" in the region as a way to counteract Chinese "malign influence."

In the short-term, Raimondo said that the US government will increase trade missions to Latin America, as well as provide assistance to American firms who wish to do business there. 

Private sector investment can create jobs, and speed up progress

"It's also good for American companies to do business, and frankly make it easier, which often involves simplification, transparency, coalition building and relationships," she added. "It's good for American businesses to expand their export. My primary goal is to increase trade and economic activity between the United States and countries in the region."

The event also includes a video message from Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, as well as a number of other senior government speakers including Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, US Trade Representative Katherine and John Kerry, currently Special Presidential Envoy for Climate at the Department of State.