U.S. President Barack Obama sat down with South American leaders on Saturday, saying he was ready to listen and learn after promising an era of more regional cooperation and a new start with Cuba. At the start of the Fifth Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, Obama is offering a regional partnership to counter the impact of the global economic crisis on the lives of the hemisphere's 800 million people. "I have a lot to learn and I am very much looking forward to listening and figuring out how we can work together more effectively," Obama told reporters before going into a meeting with key leaders from South America ahead of the summit's plenary sessions in Port of Spain. The meeting is looking to forge coordination to develop energy resources, tackle the dangers of climate change and the threats of arms- and drugs-trafficking.
