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Ibero-American Summit
Ends With Agreement on
Social Cohesion,
Fighting Against poverty
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Ibero-American Summit
Ends With Agreement on
Social Cohesion,
Fighting Against poverty
SANTIAGO, - The 17th
Ibero-American Summit
wrapped up here on
Saturday with agreements
on coordinated efforts
to fight poverty and
promote social cohesion.
Leaders of Spain,
Portugal, Andorra and 19
Latin American countries
signed the Santiago
Declaration, pledging
joint efforts for more
united and equal
societies, as well as
better social security
and aid systems.
A total of 15 agreements
were reached at the
summit, including the
Multilateral Social
Security Convention,
which will allow nearly
6 million migrant
workers in Latin
America, Spain and
Portugal to transfer
social security benefits
between their nations.
"It will be the Ibero-American
community's first
concrete agreement,"
said Enrique Iglesias,
secretary-general of the
Ibero-American
Secretariat.
The meeting, started on
Thursday, also endorsed
an accord on electronic
governments, which aimed
to boost the
transparency and
effectiveness of
governmental
organizations.
The summit was "not
about just making
romantic declarations,
they're about
identifying what we can
do working together,"
said the host of the
summit, Chilean
President Michelle
Bachelet.
"There's diversity in
our region but we know
political unity is
indispensable, so we can
have a voice that's
heard," she said.
The leaders also call on
the United States to end
its four-decade economic
blockage against Cuba.
Annual summit has been
organized by the Ibero-American
Community of Nations
since 1991. The next
summit will be held in
El Salvador.
As part of the Santiago
summit, a two-day
business conference was
held in Chilean capital.
The meeting, attended by
some 200 business people
from the 22 nations,
mulled trade agreements
with fast-growing Asian
countries like India and
China.
Some 79 million people,
or 14.7 percent of the
population within the
community, live in
extreme poverty,
according to the UN
Economic Commission for
Latin America and the
Caribbean.
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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe (C)
waves as he leaves the meeting place in
Santiago, capital of Chile. The 17th
Ibero-American Summit held in Santiago
was closed on Saturday. |
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