Latin American and Caribbean heads to discuss wider integration at December summit
|
| Published on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 |
Email To Friend Print Version |
By Kevin Lindon
Caribbean Net News Guyana Correspondent
Email: kevin@caribbeannetnews.com
BAHIA, Brazil: For the first time ever, the heads of state and government of Latin America and the Caribbean will gather for a two-day summit meeting on December 16 in El Salvador, the capital of the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia, in a new attempt to further regional integration.
The meeting will be unprecedented as the heads of the 33 countries in the region have previously only come together when convened by an external entity, such as the European Union, said Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim at a press conference following a recent meeting of foreign ministers to prepare for the summit.
He said integration and development will be the central themes, but noted that the agenda will be broad so that the authorities can discuss what they regard as the most pressing issues - from trade and financial and agricultural cooperation, to racism against migrants and natural disasters.
Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Pérez Roque said the summit will be "the point of departure for building unity in Latin America and the Caribbean" and the region will at last "speak with its own voice", but "will not be able to ignore the four simultaneous crises affecting the world: the financial, food, energy and environmental crises".
Questioned about why Brazil is proposing the initiative at a time when the region appears to be divided into different blocs and mechanisms that have failed in the past, the country's Foreign Minister stressed that sub regional or sectoral processes "have shown the potential benefits of integration".
He said there was no reason why, with a "respectable" combined gross domestic product of some US$4 trillion a year, Latin America and the Caribbean should not form a bloc of their own.
Amorim pointed to how integration had helped his country cope with the financial turbulence in the United States. The Foreign Minister noted that Brazil was mitigating the impact by diversifying its export markets and eliminating the United States dollar in its bilateral trade with Argentina, instead using the national currencies of both countries.
Trade expansion within the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) - made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay - and agreements with other countries in the region have allowed Brazil to sell 26 per cent of its exports within Latin America and the Caribbean, in contrast with the decline of sales to the United States. The US previously bought 25 per cent of Brazilian exports but now purchases 15 per cent.
Amorin said integration has reduced Brazil's vulnerability in terms of foreign trade, and trade with Argentina in national currencies has reduced dependence on the US dollar.
Saying that her government is committed to promoting Latin American and Caribbean unity that is respectful of diversity and plurality, Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa pointed out that regions with a higher degree of integration, like Asia and Europe, have performed better on development.
"We must be more ambitious," she said, adding that greater communication, coordination and flexibility are needed.
The greatest challenge at the Salvador summit, however, will be to define more precise goals since there are many interests and issues that could lead to a loss of focus in the discussions.
Among these are the nearly 50-year-old trade embargo imposed by Washington on Cuba, the position of the regional bloc in relation to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the crisis in Haiti, as well as trade issues such as the World Trade Organisation Doha Round of multilateral talks, at which Latin American countries were divided. | | | | Reads : 1385 | | | |
|
|
