El Salvador – Concern surrounding the effects of the financial crisis on the development of Latin American countries set the tone this Wednesday (29th) of the opening of the 18th edition of the Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. In all inaugural addresses at the event, which has Youth and Development as its official theme, authorities underscored the importance of overcoming the ongoing turbulence, so as to ensure the development of the 22 nations attending the summit.
"If all of the agreements made in here are to be honoured, then we must overcome this crisis” said the president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet.
According to her, for six years now, Latin American countries have been posting growth rates way higher than the historical average, and this growth has contributed for millions of people to leave poverty behind. However, the crisis poses a threat to the continuation of these improvements, therefore it must be fought against as well by Ibero-American countries, whose financial systems have not yet been compromised.
To the Ibero-American secretary general, Enrique Iglesias, the crisis is also an opportunity for developing countries to demand that a new architecture be devised for the world economy. “The design of this new architecture should count on the full participation of the countries that currently exert a significant influence on the international economy, as is the case with the Ibero-American region.”
In a video message especially sent on the occasion of the opening of the summit, the secretary general at the United Nations (UN), Ban Ki-moon, also talked about the crisis, and stated that the solution depends on “strong leadership” and on “joint action for protection against threats.”
The host of the summit, the president of El Salvador, Elías Antonio Saca, said that the final document of the event should include guidelines for the establishment of a broad pact against the problem. “Proposals for reforming the IMF, ideas for solving the crisis, research on new sources of financing are some examples of initiatives that this pact should include.”
The Ibero-American Summit ends tomorrow (31st).
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
