MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Migration and poverty in Ibero-American summit agenda

The 16th edition of the summit for the heads of state and governments of Ibero-America is set to begin this week in Uruguay with an agenda in which the issue of migration, poverty and development will establish the model for dialogue and cooperation.

This Wednesday and for the following two days the debates in Montevideo will be attended by high-ranking officials who will add the finishing touches to two documents: the Final Statement and the Montevideo Accord. A day later the session set aside for the foreign ministers of those nations involved is to take place, leaving Saturday and Sunday for the heads of state to bring the event to a close.

The event will review agreements made at previous Summits ?the latest in Salamanca, Spain last year ? and hopefully will not end being a display of rhetoric and uncompleted commitments, said Uruguayan Foreign Relations minister Reinaldo Gargano.

The Ibero American Conference of Nations is a forum for "political harmonization" among 21 Ibero-American countries ? including Portugal, Spain and all the Hispano-Luso-American nations ? which have a total population of over 489 million.

Leaders who have confirmed their assistance to the summit include King Juan Carlos from Spain; presidents from Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, México, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.

Argentina's Nestor Kirchner is only expected to spend a few hours for the formal ceremonies since relations with his counterpart and host Tabare Vazquez are not in the best of terms because of the pulp mills dispute.

Brazil's Lula da Silva at last moment canceled arguing the recent presidential campaign and efforts to convene a "national dialogue" are absorbing his full attention. Cuba will be represented by its Foreign Affairs minister Felipe Perez Roque.

Delegations and high ranking officials have been arriving since last Sunday but Foreign Relations Ministers are scheduled starting Wednesday.

Outgoing United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan is arriving in Montevideo Thursday, a special guest of the summit and will be addressing the Latinamerican group for the last time since he leaves office next January.

A special chapter of the summit is the security arrangements that have virtually cut off and isolated Montevideo's old quarter (Old City), the original Spanish settlement which normally is a bustling finance, banking and services area, next to where most of the meetings and deliberations will be taking place.

"This is possibly the greatest security operation in Uruguay's history involving air, sea and land protection for the visiting leaders and delegations", said Montevideo's Police Chief Ricardo Bernal.

Some four thousand security forces under a joint command; one three-dimensional air space radar; thirty aircrafts, helicopters, battle ships and coast guard patrols, land patrols, mounted police, sharp shooters in strategic positions, trained dogs and three armored limousines are among some of the resources displayed plus surveillance of communications and electronic mail.

Although no risks have been identified so far and protest and street demonstrations are expected to be minimal, "no loose strings have been left unattended and we're working on the hypothesis of extreme situations", admitted Bernal.

"We have been rigorously training for months and we're prepared to act in the event of a terrorist action, but I must emphasize there have been no threats of any kind".

Bernal revealed that Montevideo's police received special logistics and intelligence support mainly from Spain and Argentina and have been provided with the adequate technology for the challenge from other sources.

The actual area sealed off to pedestrians comprises twenty blocks of Montevideo's Old City and the hotel which will be lodging most leaders and where the actual meetings are taking place. A census of the area has been completed extending passes to residents and people working there. A further 50 blocks area has been sealed off to all non official traffic. The several million dollars bill for security has been addressed by the standing Ibero-american Secretariat, Mexico and Uruguay.

According to the summit's press office over 1.800 journalists have registered for the event.