INTERNATIONAL: U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed presidents from across the region in Los Angeles on Wednesday 8th June for the Summit of the Americas.

U.S. President Joe Biden arrived in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday 8th June where regional leaders gathered for the ninth Summit of the Americas whose agenda has been undermined by discord over the guest list.

Seeking to counter China’s growing clout, a senior administration official said President Joe Biden is offering America’s neighbors to the south an alternative that calls for increased U.S. engagement, including stepped-up investment, strengthening supply lines and building on existing trade deals.

However, Biden’s “Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity,” which still appears to be a work in progress, stops short of offering tariff relief and, according to the U.S. official, will initially focus on “like-minded partners” that already have U.S. trade accords. Negotiations are expected to begin in early fall, the official added.

Biden was due to outline his plan in a speech later on Wednesday to formally open the summit, which was originally conceived as a platform to showcase U.S. leadership in reviving Latin American economies and tackling migratory pressures.

But Biden’s agenda has been marred by a partial boycott by leaders upset at Washington's decision to exclude Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua from the summit.

U.S. officials hope the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles and a parallel gathering of top business executives can pave the way for greater economic cooperation as regional nations grappling with higher inflation work to bring supply chains stretched by the COVID-19 pandemic closer to home.

Washington, which already has a combined trade pact with Canada and Mexico, a collective one with Central America and a series of bilateral agreements in the region, will attempt to develop new customs, digital trade, labor, environmental and corporate accountability standards, according to the official.Before the event, the Biden administration unveiled a new proposed U.S. economic partnership with Latin America.

Advancing democracy and tackling climate change are some of the goals of this year's Summit of Americas, said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday 8th June.

Blinken and OAS Secretary General, Luis Almargo kicked off a ministerial meeting during the third day of the Los Angeles summit.

 U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE, ANTONY BLINKEN, SAID:

"We will recommit ourselves to one of the core aspirations that brought us together 30 years ago, when the United States hosted the first Summit of the Americas in Miami: advancing democracy. We'll push ourselves. We'll push our neighbors across the region to shore up the rule of law, free and fair elections, human rights, and other pillars of free and open societies. And we'll work together to address common threats to our democracies from corruption to disinformation."

"We will double down on investing in climate resilience and adaptation to better equip our communities to deal with the changes to the environment that all of use are already experiencing. And which we all know are going to grow, no matter how effective we are in accelerating the shift to clean energy. That includes meeting our commitments to reverse deforestation, decreasing the amount of carbon from land use activities, increasing our capacity to store carbon."

"Much like the problems, the solutions are interconnected and to be effective they have to reach across borders, that's why we are here. That's really what it comes down to. Addressing these challenges also demands that we try to bridge the divide between domestic and foreign policy. Whether we are working to improve health security or energy security, defending an open secure and reliable internet or strengthening regulations to make sure that illicit finance cannot find a safe heaven in any of our countries."

Almargo called for the democratic goals to be strengthened in the regional summit.

This is the first time since 1994, when the gathering first took place in Miami; the United States is hosting the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.

At the event, President Joe Biden will seek to address regional migration and economic challenges.

_{PHOTO: DIGNITARIES ARRIVING AT THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS AND GREETING PRESIDENT BIDEN AND FIRST LADY}