ARGENTINA: Argentine and U.S. presidents arrive in Mar del Plata for IV Americas Summit

Record ID: 449068

  • Title: ARGENTINA: Argentine and U.S. presidents arrive in Mar del Plata for IV Americas Summit
  • Date: 4th November 2005
  • Summary: HELICOPTER LANDING / SECURITY / KIRCHNER BEING WELCOMED BY DELEGATION
  • Embargoed: 19th November 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVAAR3M5N6NNIY3D8636YMDC0LOD
  • Story Text: Foreign Ministers from all over the Americas met members of Argentina's indigenous communities in the seaside resort of Mar del Plata on Thursday (November 03) in advance of the IV Summit of the Americas. The Ministers were greeted by chants and songs performed by representatives of Argentina's indigenous peoples, while heads of state from 34 countries made their way to the coastal city for the summit which kicks off on Friday (November 04). Argentine President Nestor Kirchner arrived in the heavily guarded resort accompanied by the host country's First Lady Cristina Fernandez. Kirchner was greeted by throngs of supporters as he made his way to the summit venue, all eager to catch a glimpse or a snapshot of their President. U.S. President George Bush touched down in the coastal city just hours later amid tight security, as thousands of protesters prepared marches against his arrival. The U.S. head of state was accompanied by his Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. First Lady Laura Bush. Large portions of the city had already been cordoned off ahead of the start of the Americas-wide presidential summit, with shopkeepers boarding up storefronts in fear of protests. Anti-Bush sentiment runs high in Argentina due to the war in Iraq and U.S.-backed, free-market policies that Argentines say pushed millions of their compatriots into poverty. Leftist activists mostly from Latin America are holding an alternative Peoples' Summit and Bush's main critic in the region, leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, is due to speak there on Friday.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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