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Port of Spain
18 April 2009
U.S. officials say combating the global economic slump emerged as a priority topic at the fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago. Hemispheric leaders also discussed energy and environmental concerns as well as regional security threats.
Meeting behind closed doors, heads of government discussed ways to revive their economies, preserve trade, and prevent fallout from the worldwide financial crisis from boosting poverty rates. That, according to senior U.S. officials who were present at the summit's first of three plenary sessions.
President Obama's top economic advisor, Lawrence Summers, says the gathering comes at a critical juncture.
"Nobody expected a global financial crisis of this magnitude," he said. "The global financial crisis is a kind of economic hurricane."
Summers says all leaders recognize the gravity of the situation and the perils to their societies if the economic downturn continues unabated.
With that in mind, the Obama administration announced a program to boost credit availability for micro- businesses in the hemisphere to promote growth from the bottom up.
In addition, Summers said, President Obama has spoken out against protectionism in the Americas.
At Friday's opening ceremony, several leaders placed blame for the financial crisis squarely on the United States. Summers said, as day later, leaders focused more on productive courses of action than assigning fault.
Even so, Bolivian President Evo Morales spoke out against the economic policies the United States has long-advocated in the hemisphere.
Mr. Morales said, unless economic policies are changed, prosperity cannot be guaranteed. He said Bolivia has moved away from the neo-liberal economic model of privatization that has not produced results.
The hemispheric gathering has been overshadowed by issues surrounding Cuba - the only nation not invited to the summit - and the decades-old U.S. embargo of the communist-run island.
President Obama recently relaxed restrictions on remittances and travel to Cuba by Cuban Americans. Thursday, Cuban President Raul Castro called for open dialogue between Washington and Havana, and suggested Cuba may have made a mistake in the past when it ruled out talks on human rights and political prisoners.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs says Mr. Castro's words got President Obama's attention.
"That was most assuredly taken note of and discussed within our administration," he said. "We think that was a change in their rhetoric that we have not seen in quite some time."
President Obama has heard repeated pleas from his summit colleagues to terminate the U.S. embargo of Cuba. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez:
Mr. Chavez said everybody is rooting for President Obama to lift the embargo, and that he is sure the American people want it done. He said history will judge President Obama if he fails to seize this great opportunity.
Mr. Obama has said that he wants to see a change in long-frozen U.S.-Cuban relations, but that he also wants to see democratic reform on the island.
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