GEORGETOWN 04/03/2007 08:12
The Rio Group summit, attended by only eight Latin American presidents,
debated whether to admit Cuba to this club of 19 countries of the
region, before ending Saturday.
To shore up the group and give it a permanent presence, Chilean
President Michelle Bachelet wanted to create standing working groups on
energy agriculture and climate change.
"We must work on concrete projects," she said Saturday.
Dominican President Leonel Fernandez, whose country chairs the group for
the next year, said the group must identify cooperation projects.
"Strengthening the group will depend on its ability to work together,"
he said.
Bachelet, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Mexican
President Felipe Calderon met privately to address the group's future.
They also discussed the possibility of admitting Cuba, said Brazilian
Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
"There is no reason to isolate Cuba, so long as we keep in mind that we
are defenders of democracy," a fundamental principle of the Group of
Rio, he said.
Cuba, as the only communist country in the hemisphere, is suspended from
the Organization of American States.
Saturday's discussions covered improving the group's performance and
ensuring that developing countries have a greater say in international
organizations such as the United Nations, the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank.
The main agenda item -- combating poverty and improving health and
education -- was based on a study conducted by the UN Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
The group also addressed the post-elections situation in Haiti, where
troops and police of several Rio Group members make up a UN
Stabilization Mission.
No comments:
Post a Comment