By SEAN DOUGLAS Sunday, April 12 2009

MELTING ice caps and financial meltdown can best be tackled by a united world, and this week’s Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad is a first step for the hemisphere to come together on such issues.

From Thursday to Sunday, 34 regional leaders will meet to tackle an agenda of economy, ecology and energy, plus social/political woes such as crime, and just as importantly to try to improve relations within the hemisphere.

The global economic slowdown is likely to be the dominant concern, ahead of climate change and energy renewability, although the latter two are still important. Crime, terrorism, poverty, food security, and health may also arise on the agenda.

After settling in on Friday, Heads of State will on Saturday attend plenary sessions on human prosperity, energy security, and democratic governance/public security respectively, and a working lunch on environmental sustainability. On Sunday, Prime Minister Patrick Manning will relax with leaders at a retreat at the Diplomatic Centre.

United States President Barack Obama will be centre stage at the Summit, not just because the US is the hemisphere’s largest economy in these uncertain times, but also due to his immense personal popularity and the high expectations placed on his shoulders even by those persons far beyond America’s borders.

Obama, signalling a break from the style of his predecessor, has said he is coming to Trinidad to listen.

While many are welcoming Obama as a breath of fresh air after the unpopularity of his predecessor George W Bush, no one is sure how he will relate to leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez who will likely lead calls for the future admission of communist Cuba to the grouping of democratic countries.

Chavez has said he wants to press the proverbial “re-set button” regarding the United States, but is meanwhile positioning himself as Cuba’s chief advocate.

Although the Cuban issue is not on the formal agenda, commentators are saying it is sure to be discussed, although Obama’s advisor Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, has said he hopes Cuba does not displace other vital issues from discussion.

The US administration, like Chavez, has also met regional leaders. Obama has met Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, having also been among the five regional members of the G20 group at the London Summit (US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina).

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently visited Mexico, while US Vice President Joe Biden met the leaders of Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay when he visited Chile last month.

Locally, the organising of the Summit has attracted some controversy which some observers blame on a lack of “buy in” by the local population.

Much attention has been focussed on the exclusion of the local citizenry from the event, such as symbolised by the creation of “red zones” to which only accredited persons may enter and by traffic restrictions for the Summit and the dry runs preceding it.

Also of concern is the fact that the cost of the Summit has never been disclosed by Prime Minister Manning, but is estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some observers question Manning’s claim that the event, coupled with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November, will in the long-run bring valuable international exposure for this country.