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Latin America and the Caribbean face significant challenges because of climate change, energy sustainability and steep food price increases, among other factors
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Regional Challenges Pile Up :
By Quincy Parker -
Nassau, Bahamas:



Extreme poverty has been reduced in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General José Miguel Insulza, and regional democracy has remained relatively stable over the last few years, but still, the executive says challenges in the region continue to pile up.

Insulza acknowledged that the hemisphere still faces significant challenges because of climate change, energy sustainability and steep food prices increases, among other factors.

The secretary general told participants at the Twelfth Annual Conference on Trade and Investment in the Americas last week that the inflation problem facing some countries in the region is significant, but that even so, the real effect of the financial crisis in the United States on the region remains unclear.

"The challenges are piling [up]," Insulza warned, citing the energy situation stemming from oil price hikes.

He also cited the food crisis as a real problem for Latin America and the Caribbean, explaining that given the steep increases in food prices it is quite possible that some of those who had emerged from the ranks of the poor last year could very well return to poverty.

Insulza told the conference of other significant challenges affecting the region, such as alarming crime rates and, in some instances, governance issues. He urged them to also discuss the importance of the Fifth Summit of the Americas that will be held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in April 2009.

Regional Interest In US Election

According to the secretary general, regional authorities should not be overly concerned about getting specific mention of Latin America or the Caribbean in the US election campaigns because, at the end of the day, that is not really a problem.

"The issues that we are concerned about are there [in the U.S. election campaign]," he argued, pointing to trade and explaining that Mexico buys as much from the US as China; and Brazil buys as much as France.

More important is what happens with the free-trade agreement in the post-election period, he stressed.

Crime, climate change, energy and immigration, among other central issues are equally important to the rest of the region as they are all common issues, Insulza observed.

He stressed that a large amount of the US oil supply comes from regional countries like Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.

Rather, the OAS Secretary General pointed out, the focus ought to be more on "what we have in common in terms of policy, and how much we agree."

Among other areas of focus, the conference examined the region’s economic outlook; the impact of surging food and energy prices on the social agenda; energy challenges; the upcoming 2009 Summit of the Americas; political developments in the Andean region; and the politics of regional relations.

September 15, 2008

September 15, 2008 | 3:05 PM Comments  0 comments

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