MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The 4th Summit of the Americas with the participation of heads of state and government and representatives from 34 countries concluded here on Saturday with delegates of the meeting having adopted the final document with partial disagreement over free trade issues.
Describing the summit as "successful," Argentine Foreign Minister Rafael Bielsa, general coordinator the summit, told a news briefing that the two-day summit has agreed "all the contents of the document which has been under negotiation...All the obstacles have been eliminated."
The successfulness of the meeting lies in the fact that delegates of the summit "have reached an agreement over the importance and the necessity of trade integration in the West Hemisphere," Bielsa said.
The Argentine foreign minister also admitted that negotiations over free trade issues are difficult. But he rejected the saying that the agreement concerning the the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is dead.
The FTAA advocates elimination of trade barriers from Canada to Chile. "This (FTAA) agreement is not dead in the water," Bielsa insisted.
Speaking of controversial ideas over the FTAA, Bielsa said "there is no condition to continue talks over the issues of free trade in the region."
The theme of the summit, chosen by the Argentine government as host, is "Creating jobs to fight poverty and Strengthening democratic governance." However, mass media has noticed that leaders from across Americas failed to overcome their differences over a push to create a hemisphere-wide trade area.
The failure to reach an agreement at the Americas Summit demonstrated a showdown over differing views on free trade between US President George W. Bush and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez, who is leading a Latin American bloc that opposes US trade policy.
The Bush administration is trying to prompt the Americas Summitto build support for reviving the FTAA, which would eliminate trade barriers from Canada to Chile. It has stalled amid opposition from Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay which have been complaining about US farm subsidies.
Chavez, the most strident opponent of US-backed free-market economic policies, vowed to "bury" Washington's plan to expand trade in Latin America.
"Every one of us has brought a shovel, an undertaker's shovel, because here in Mar del Plata is the tomb of FTAA," Chavez told a mass rally organized by anti-free trade activists.
Addressing the Americas Summit, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner also criticized US-backed free-market recipes, which dominated in the region in the 1990s but failed to reduce poverty and inequality.
"We criticize the policies because we saw the results in Argentina's crisis in 2001 and the fall of various democratic governments in the region," he said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attached importance to free trade in the region, saying "Free trade is very important if we respect equality among nations." However, Lula told reporters that it was "not opportune" to discuss the FTAA before a crucial World Trade Organization meeting next month in Hong Kong, where subsidies would be the top issue.
The 5th Summit of the Americas is expected to be held in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Argentine authorities reportedly have mobilized some 35,000 policeman and government troops to guard against any possible terror attack in the period of the international conference.
However, violence and riots eclipsed the international summit which has been controversial at the very beginning. Tens of thousands of people from Argentina, Cuba and Brazil held demonstrations and a mass rally against US President George W. Bush and US economics policies outside the "exclusive zone" in Mardel Plata where the summit was inaugurated on Friday.
Bush, who arrived here Thursday night to attended the two-day summit, is unpopular among many Latin Americans who oppose the US-led Iraq war and his push for a regional free trade deal.
Clashes between the demonstrators and police occurred soon after the hemispheric political forum started. The angry demonstrators, who tried to break up cordons set up outside the venue of the summit, threw Molotov cocktails towards riot police, smashed the glass storefronts of at least 30 businesses nearby. Heavily armed police in turn fired tear gas and rubber bullets to drive away demonstrators.
Dozens of people, including several policemen, were wounded in the clashes. At least 64 people were arrested in Mar del Plata, according to Argentine Interior Minister Anibal Fernandez.
In addition to violence in the beach resort city, riots also occurred in downtown Buenos Aires where hundreds of protesters took to the street. Several stores and commercial institutions were set ablaze and seriously damaged. At least 85 people were detained in the capital. No death was reported so far.
Streets around the venue of the Americas Summit has turned to be quiet when the summit ends on Saturday. Enditem
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