GUYANA: The annual Rio Group summit has opened in Guyana where leaders expect to discuss regional social issues and regional integration

Presidents from several member country's of Latin America's Rio Group gathered in Guyana on Saturday (March 3). Not all heads of state made it for the yearly summit, but attendees included Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. Officials held a series of informal meetings on Saturday morning before the official opening of the 2007 summit. The summit is a one-day affair and the officials are expected to discuss regional social issues. "We're going to reaffirm the willingness of the presidents to strengthen our political coordination, which frequently has expression in the world dialogue. But beyond this political articulation, we're going to discuss concrete issues, which we're going to get to work on right now," Bachelet told reporters before heading into the session. Guyana is the pro-tempore secretariat of the group and will hand over the position to the Dominican Republic on March 3. The Rio Group, which was created in 1986 to strengthen political and economic cooperation, has set Millenium Goals which include poverty reduction. The Group consists of Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

ITN Source | March 4, 2007

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