Summit of the Americas, live: news and breaking news

United States President Joe Biden delivers a keynote address at the Summit of the Americas opening ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on June 8, 2022. (Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) US President Joe Biden launched the summit on Wednesday calling for cooperation and a renewed focus on democracy, an urgent call after his exclusion of autocratic leaders from the conference sparked protests and boycotts. “Right now we need more cooperation, common purpose and transformative ideas. There has never been a greater need than today,” Biden said as he opened the three-day event. “Democracy has been a hallmark of our region,” Biden continued, calling on nations to “renew our conviction that democracy is not just the defining feature of American stories,” but the “essential ingredient.” He said it was now critical to “demonstrate to our people the power of democracies to improve everyone’s lives.” And as China advances in Latin America, Biden said “we have all the tools we need right here in our own hemisphere” to deliver security and economic progress. The president outlined a new economic framework that Washington hopes other countries will sign up to in the coming months. He also previewed a migration declaration that the countries have agreed to detailing the responsibilities of nations amid historic migration flows.