INTERNATIONAL: U.S. President Joe Biden laid out his pitch to leaders from the Americas for a new economic partnership at the start of a regional summit on Thursday, even as he faced open rebuke over the exclusion of Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua.

President Joe Biden announced on Wednesday a proposed new U.S. economic partnership with Latin America aimed at countering China's growing clout as he kicked off a regional summit marred by discord and snubs over the guest list.

Hosting the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Biden sought to assure the assembled leaders about his administration's commitment to the region despite nagging concerns that Washington, at times, is still trying to dictate to its poorer southern neighbors.

Speaking at the opening session of the Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles, Biden said his administration was committed to helping Latin America and the Caribbean recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, tackle irregular migration and improve living standards.

But he quickly faced sharp pushback over his decision to cut out Washington's three main regional antagonists, which spurred a boycott by some leaders led by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, dealing a blow to Biden's effort to reassert U.S. leadership.

The line-up of visiting heads of state and government in attendance was thinned down to 21 after Biden excluded Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, prompting Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and several other leaders to stay away in protest.

"We have to invest in making sure our trade is sustainable and responsible in creating supply chains that are more resilient, more secure and more sustainable," Biden told a gala opening ceremony.

Brazil and the United States should forge closer ties after the two countries drifted apart for ideological reasons, Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro said on Thursday at a first official meeting with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden.

The hastily arranged meeting between the two came together after Biden reached out to Bolsonaro, a populist and admirer of ex-president Donald Trump, as Washington sought to shore up attendance at a summit roiled by a partial boycott.

Leaders attending the Summit of the Americas are poised to issue a declaration pledging measures to curb illegal migration and help countries receiving large number of migrants to cope with them, according to a draft document on Thursday.

The document, which was dated both June 6 and June 7, included commitments to work on convening banks to review their financial instruments for migrant-hosting countries, as well as improving migrants' access to public and private services.

^{PHOTO: SOUNDBITES FROM U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN AT THE SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS}