Summit urges Americas to face challenges by reconciling interest of all

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, January 13, 2004

Summit urges Americas to face challenges by reconciling interest of all

The leaders of 34 American nations are gathering in Monterrey, Mexico Monday to discuss ways to deal with challenges facing the continent where there are big economic gap between the north and south.

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The leaders of 34 American nations are gathering in Monterrey, Mexico Monday to discuss ways to deal with challenges facing the continent where there are big economic gap between the north and south.

In a report prepared by the organizers of the Special Summit of the Americas which opens here on Monday, leaders of the American countries acknowledged that collective is a valuable mechanism for grappling with the challenges facing here Western Hemisphere such as political fragility, slow economic growth and unmet social demands.

The original concept of the summit of the Americas was to establish a framework of shared values and joint commitments to achieve peace and prosperity in the Hemisphere. Since the first summit in 1994 in Miami, USA, much progress has been achieved, but challenges for realizing the final goal are getting tougher for the Americas, political observers said.

In the economic field, the gap between the north and south is widening. According to the report, 44 percent of the inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean, or about 220 million people live in poverty, and 20 percent live in extreme poverty. But the United States and Canada, the two developed nations in the Hemisphere, have per capita income of more than 20,000 US dollars.

According to a World Bank report, the richest 10 percent people in the continent receive 48 percent of the income, while the poorest 10 percent receive only 1.6 percent of the income.

According to a report by the International Labor Organization,57 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean area unemployed or under-employed.

In the political arena, many Latin American countries fear US increasing influence in Latin America. Some countries like Venezuela believe that the United States wants to interfere in their internal affairs.

The United States wanted to put its proposal of anti-corruption in Latin Americas on the summit's agenda, but many countries suspect that this proposal may be used by the United States as a tool to topple governments in some small countries in the region.

The United States and many Latin American countries are also divided on the security issue. Brazil, for instance, is openly critical of strict US security measures such as fingerprinting of citizens of Latin American countries traveling to the United States, and has decided to treat US citizens traveling to Brazil in the same manner. Some countries believe that some US security measures will affect border crossing and trade activities.

On the issue of Free Trade Area of Americas (FTAA), despite the consensus reached by countries in the Hemisphere on the establishment of FTAA, many countries insisted that more attention be paid to the interest of smaller nations in the negotiations. Brazil also insisted that the issue of removing agricultural subsidies be included in the negotiations.

Observers said there is little hope for reaching the goal of FTAA in the near future if the United States refuses to make concessions to the demands of countries in the south of the Hemisphere.

However, organizers of the Summit urged leaders in the region to bear in mind the challenges facing the Hemisphere and come up with an agenda that best responds to the needs of all nations in the region.

Source: Xinhua

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