Latin American and Caribbean nations have agreed to set up a new regional body without the US and Canada, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has said.
The new bloc would be an alternative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years.
Mexico is hosting a regional summit in the beach resort of Cancun.
The OAS has been dogged by rifts between some Latin American members and the US over economic policy and trade.
Its has also been criticised as promoting US interests over those of other members.
The new grouping "must as a priority push for regional integration... and promote the regional agenda in global meetings," Mr Calderon told the summit, which includes leaders and representatives from 32 countries.
A US State Department official said he did not see the new body as replacing the OAS.
The summit has also reportedly backed Argentina's claim over the British-owned Falklands.
By Courtesy of www.bbc.com
23 February, 2010
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