Chavez Hosts Summit of Latin America, African Leaders (Update1)
By Matthew Walter and Daniel Cancel
Sept. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hosts the second South America-Africa Summit this weekend, bringing together leaders from Brazil to Libya to spur trade and strengthen ties as he seeks more influence outside the region.
Delegations from more than 60 countries began to arrive for the summit on the Caribbean resort island of Margarita to participate in forums on trade, energy, security and agriculture, Venezuela's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Chavez said yesterday 20 African presidents and nine heads of state from Latin America will attend.
Hosting the summit plays into Chavez's goal of boosting Latin American ties with countries outside the U.S. and Europe, to diminish what he calls their "imperial" influence. Last month, he traveled across Africa and the Middle East, holding friendly meetings with U.S. adversaries including Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libya's Muammar Qaddafi.
"A new world has already emerged, and it's a new world that's marching toward multi-polarity," Chavez told reporters at the United Nations on Sept. 23. "We have great expectations."
Qaddafi, Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Algeria's Abdelaziz Bouteflika arrived yesterday. Qaddafi, who travels with an extensive delegation, pitched his trademark tent next to the pool at the Hilton Hotel, where the summit is taking place.
Chavez, Qaddafi Met
Chavez met with Qaddafi last night inside the tent which is decorated with images of palm trees and camels, according to images broadcast on state television.
Invitees include Sudanese President Umar Al-Bashir, who has been accused of war crimes in Darfur. Chavez in March called the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Al-Bashir a "mockery," and said former U.S. President George W. Bush should be arrested instead.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is attending this weekend's summit, also is seeking stronger ties with Africa. Lula has built factories to produce anti-viral drugs in Africa, sent missions to teach irrigation farming on the continent and opened 17 African embassies since taking office in 2003.
Lula and Chavez are competing for popularity and influence across Latin America, and the contest has extended to other parts of the world such as Africa, said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
'Quiet Diplomacy'
"Chavez's approach is of the moment, to capture headlines," Roett said in a telephone interview. "Brazil has been engaging in pragmatic ties, through quiet diplomacy."
This is the second South America-Africa Summit. The first was held in 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Chavez has used regional summits to make rhetorical arguments about increased "south-south" cooperation, Roett said. The summit isn't likely to cause concern for the U.S., he said.
Chavez said yesterday the final declaration of the summit will seek to set a concrete agenda of cooperation to follow during the next 10 years.
Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela's oil and energy minister, said that the delegations will discuss energy cooperation and that Venezuela is still studying the possibility of building a refinery in Mauritania.
"We're working on agreements to develop refineries, boost storage capacity and cooperation on joint projects," Ramirez told reporters yesterday. "Africa and South America have 24 percent of the hydrocarbons in the world."
To contact the reporters on this story: Matthew Walter in Caracas at mwalter4@bloomberg.net; Daniel Cancel in Porlamar, Venezuela, at dcancel@bloomberg.net.
Last Updated: September 26, 2009 11:03 EDT
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Comment: We should never ever underestimate the power of unity among poor, desperate and oppressed peoples. Imagine Africa and Latin America being united together, imagine Latinos inside the United States and African-Americans united together! Imagine all of the world's people being united together as one in a full-blown thrust for total liberation from all forms of imperialism!
Some reactionaries love to condemn Chavez as a dictator, but they should take a close look at the class dictatorship being imposed upon the masses of poor people by the corporate capitalist ruling class and the Killing Machine incorporated into the U.S. Armed Forces.
Education for Liberation! Venceremos Unidos!
Peter S. Lopez ~aka Peta
Sacramento, California, Aztlan
Yahoo Email: peter.lopez51@yahoo.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Come Together! Join Up! Seize the Time!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Humane-Rights-Agenda/
http://humane-rights-agenda-network.ning.com/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NetworkAztlan_News/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/THIRD-WORLD-NEWS/
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
No comments:
Post a Comment