In 1993, Vice President Al Gore made the unprecedented move of debating businessman and former presidential candidate Ross Perot regarding the merits of the North American Free Trade Agreement on CNN's Larry King Live.

Pass through the gates of the Bombardier plant in Querétaro and you leave the Mexico of potholed roads and blaring horns behind: welcome to a strangely serene place called North America. In the car park neat lines of vehicles all face the same way—almost unthinkable elsewhere in Mexico.

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), a free trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico that has created a $19 trillion market with 460 million consumers. It isn’t merely the size of NAFTA that makes it remarkable but also the fact that it was the first U.S. trade agreement that included both developed and developing countries.

The Prime Ministers of Viet Nam and Japan reaffirmed yesterday their commitment to comprehensive development of the strategic partnership between both countries. In talks held between Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, the commitment found concrete expression in the latter's announcement of an official development assistance package of around US$1 billion (JPY1 trillion) for the second half of the 2013 fiscal year.

Japan and Myanmar on Sunday signed an investment treaty to nurture closer business ties as the once secluded Southeast Asian country opens its fast-growing economy to more foreign commerce. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Myanmar President Thein Sein signed the deal in summit talks following a gathering of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Tokyo.

During an official visit by Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos to the White House on Tuesday, President Obama reiterated his government's support for continued peace talks between the Colombian government and the Marxist rebel group, FARC. The meeting between the two hemispheric leaders focused on the ongoing peace talks, being held in Havana, Cuba, and on other issues like human rights and trade.

The leaders of five East African countries have signed a protocol laying the groundwork for a monetary union within 10 years that they expect will expand regional trade. Heads of state of Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, which have already signed a common market and a single customs union, say the protocol will allow them to progressively converge their currencies and increase commerce.

After waiting out an early-afternoon downpour, Vice President Joe Biden and the U.S. delegation emerged into the humid heat to tour the $5.2-billion canal expansion. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake snapped pictures with her cellphone. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter beamed with curiosity as he walked and questioned a site supervisor.