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Americas 5th Summit concludes:
‘New spirit of cooperation’
The Fifth Summit of the Americas closed recently in what Prime
Minister Patrick Manning of the host country Trinidad and Tobago
described as a “new spirit of cooperation.”
Manning said he was “extremely pleased” at the outcome of the summit,
and that “a new spirit of cooperation was very evident in the conduct of
business” at the three-day gathering of leaders from 34 countries of the
Western Hemisphere.
“Never before have I attended a conference where the spirit of
cooperation was as good as the spirit we have met here in Port of
Spain,” he said.
“These deliberations here have heralded the dawn of a newer, brighter
and better day,” Manning said.
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (R) and US President Barack
Obama chatting at the Diplomatic Centre during the 5th
Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain. AFP |
U.S. President Barack Obama described the meeting as “ productive,”
and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez said the summit ended with new
perspectives and optimism, opening a new era in relations on the
hemisphere.
Jose Manuel Insulza, Secretary-General of the Organization of
American States (OAS), expressed “full satisfaction” with the results of
the summit. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also spoke highly of
the atmosphere of amity at the meeting. “The most incredible thing about
this conference was the failure to fulfill expectations of great
confrontations here,” Harper told a press conference. “We saw the
replacement of confrontation with dialogue, very good dialogue.”
“In the difficult economic times in which we are living, this is a
tremendously promising development,” he noted.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, another major player
in the region, hailed the summit as marking the beginning of a new era
in U.S.-Latin America ties.
“We are extremely surprised with what happened in this meeting,” Lula
said at a separate press conference.
“Obama had an immersion course in Latin America. I believe we will
likely see a positive evolution in the relation between the United
States and Latin America,” said the Brazilian president.
“It is possible to create a new dynamic of partnership and
contribution,” Lula said.
A final declaration of commitment failed to get unanimous support, as
some countries had ‘reservations’ about some elements of the document,
Manning said, without giving any details. Courtesy: Xinhua |
