Ibero-American leaders call for UN summit on economic crisis
Leaders from Spain, Portugal and Latin America on Friday called for an emergency world summit overseen by the United Nations to tackle the financial crisis, as recession fears rose.Economic concerns dominated the 18th Ibero-American summit, which ended Friday in San Salvador.
A final statement called for participants to take steps to "urgently" organize an international summit on the crisis.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said a large multilateral agreement was necessary in order to carry out "deep reform of the international finance system model."
Participants Argentina, Brazil and Mexico plan to present the statement at a meeting of the Group of Twenty (G20) leaders on the global financial crisis in Washington on November 15.
The leaders also signed agreements to fight poverty among young people, the main theme of the three-day summit before the crisis took over.
"Some 150 million youths will benefit from these policies," said President Antonio Saca of El Salvador at the summit's close.
Colombian music star Shakira, who set up a regional aid organization two years ago, presented a food, health and education project for some 22 million poor children aged under six in Latin America."We know that in this world financial crisis, hunger will spread in the poorest layers of our society and thousands of children risk dying from hunger," Shakira said.
The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) this week warned that the region would suffer the world economic crisis through a drop in investments, remittances and demand for its raw material exports.
It also revised down its regional growth prediction from four percent to no more than three percent.
The El Salvador summit also condemned terrorism, specifically referring to a car bomb attack on a university in northern Spain on Thursday in which 17 people were injured.
It again called for a lifting of the US embargo on Cuba and claimed Argentina's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Notable absentees from the meeting included Cuban President Raul Castro and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, who pulled out citing fears for his personal safety in El Salvador.
Next year's summit will take place in Portugal with the theme of "Innovation and Technology."
AFP - 1/nov/2008
Hopefully the Countries meet in Washington will have to listen President of Argntina Mrs. Krishtner who said in San Salvador that running the Pension Funds by Goverment has produce better than the Private on driving funds.
ReplyDeleteUSA need to listen carefully such voices as Argentian experience and not merely wait to extended more credits as simple borrower Institutions.
Greetings,
Jose Matatias Delgado Y Del Hambre.