Enhancing Global Engagement

This chapter describes how external stakeholders, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, the private sector, civil society, and international financial institutions can help the Northern Triangle countries enact the economic reforms identified in this book. The United States’ strategic interests in the Northern Triangle include maintaining influence in the Western Hemisphere, limiting adverse spillovers from the region, and promoting democratic values and prosperity. These interests are best met by adopting a series of pragmatic principles of engagement in the region, which this chapter outlines. Canada and Mexico have an interest in enhancing governance in the Northern Triangle because adverse spillovers from the region can have impact on their relations with the United States. The private sector and civil society can be leveraged to achieve consensus and cohesion in policy reform, while the international financial institutions can offer unique areas of expertise that can benefit the Northern Triangle countries. The chapter concludes by noting that while sustained multilateral action to assist the Northern Triangle can help them escape their governance traps, strong domestic political ownership and genuine public calls for enhanced governance and accountability will ultimately decide whether reform efforts succeed or fail.