Panama City: The VII Summit of the Americas was officially closed Saturday as Latin and Caribbean leaders underscore a range of topics at the Atlapa Convention Center in Panama City.
The leaders of the United States and Cuba also held their first formal meeting in Panama in more than half a century, clearing the way for a normalisation of relations that had seemed unthinkable to both Cubans and Americans for generations.
The meeting is said to be a historic one, given the fact that the two nations have barely been on speaking terms for more than 50 years.
In a small conference room in a convention center in capital Panama City, President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro sat side by side on Saturday in a bid to inject fresh momentum into their months-old effort to restore diplomatic ties.
Obama said he wanted to "turn the page" on old divisions, although he acknowledged that significant differences between the governments would remain.
"This is obviously a historic meeting," Obama said shortly after the two sat down. "It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage with Cuban government."
Castro told the US president he was ready discuss sensitive issues including human rights and freedom of the press, saying, "Everything can be on the table." But he also cautioned that the two countries have "agreed to disagree."
"We are willing to make progress in the way the president has described," Castro said.
During a roundtable summit with other leaders of the American hemisphere earlier, he praised Obama as "an honest man", Castro said "every US president before him is to blame" for making Cuba suffer under US blockade.
There are expectations that Obama will use the meeting to announce his decision to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Meanwhile, the US told Latin American leaders that the days when his country could freely interfere in regional affairs are past. He was speaking just before the Summit commenced.
He told a forum of civil society leaders in Panama City that “the days in which our agenda in this hemisphere presumed that the United States could meddle with impunity, those days are past”.
Additionally, the Summit also saw several protests by Venezuelans, urging the US to lift sanctions imposed on Venezuela. The protesters were greeted by their President, Nicolas Maduro.
Guyana on the other hand was represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues – Birkett, who told Guyanese media operatives in an interview that she is also optimistic about the reconciliation between Cuba and the US.
“If we’re able to see Cuba back in this whole hemispheric dialogue it makes for a better political integration,” Rodrigues – Birkett noted.
Also delivering opening remarks was Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, who congratulated Castro and Obama for their opening of negotiation that would lead to the normalization of bilateral relations between both governments.
You must be logged in to post a comment.