3rd LD: Historic American summit opens with Cuba's first participation

The seventh Summit of the Americas, a gathering of heads of state and representatives from all 35 countries in the Western Hemisphere, kicked off here Friday, with Cuba's first participation.

Both Cuban President Raul Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama, as well as leaders of other countries, appeared at the opening ceremony at the ATLAPA Convention Center, sitting in the same line on the stage.

Before the inaugural ceremony, they shook hands for the first time since they announced the rapprochement in December.

The two-day event, themed "Prosperity with equity: the challenge of cooperation in the Americas", offers regional leaders a platform to discuss issues of common interest and address urgent challenges in fields like education, energy, migration and security.

"It's the first time that the 35 nations of this hemisphere are meeting at the same table," said Jose Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of the American States (OAS) said at the opening ceremony.

"Intervention, exclusion ... and confrontation are simply no longer acceptable, or even useful," Insulza noted, adding that dialogue is the best way forward.

"Our region may have many problems and more than a few differences, but we all agree that they must be resolved peacefully," he said.

Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela stressed Panama's role in connecting two the continents, two oceans, and regional countries, noting that after 59 years, the countries of the continent are meeting again in Panama.

The Panama Canal has been helping develop east-west trade for more than a century. Panama is hoping to act as a bridge between Cuba and the United States at this summit, at which Cuba was invited to attend for the first time since 1994.

At the last Summit in Colombia in 2012, all the Latin American and Caribbean leaders agreed to invite Cuba, but the United States and Canada objected.

Some controversial issues are also likely to be brought up during the leaders' meetings and discussions, such as the U.S.-Venezuela relations, drug control policies in some Central American states, and the island dispute between Argentina and Britain.

Political analysts note that the United States and Canada were often at odds with most of the Latin American nations over these issues, making it hard for the leaders to reach a consensus.

The summit has been held every three years since 1994. Among the some 12,000 people attending the summit this year are also UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the Organization of the American States Jose Miguel Insulza and envoys from other international and regional bodies.X It came nearly four months after U.S. and Cuba announced in December to start the process of normalizing the relations after over five decades of hostilities.

When UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who is also present, mentioned the thawing relations between the United States and Cuba in his speech at the opening, applause resounded. Endi