The 12th Ibero-American summit has opened in the coastal resort of Bavaro in the Dominican Republic.

Twenty leaders from Latin America, Spain and Portugal attended the inaugural ceremony, all dressed in the traditional white guayabera shirts of the Caribbean.

Chavez was greeted by left-wing activists

The official agenda of the two-day meeting covers a wide range of issues, including environmental protection, poverty reduction and counter-terrorism.

But correspondents say discussions are likely to be dominated by other concerns, such as the economic crisis in Argentina and political tensions in Venezuela.

The heads of state will sign a joint declaration at the end of the summit on Saturday.

Unity call

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe arrived in buoyant mood after leading Bishop Jorge Enrique Jimenez was rescued by troops from suspected leftist rebels who kidnapped him on Monday.

A cow in Europe gets more subsidies than a child in Central America

Portuguese foreign minister

Meanwhile Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was greeted at the airport by left-wing activists who praised his policies for relieving poverty.

Notable absentees include President Alejandro Toledo of Peru, who has stayed behind to supervise regional elections on Sunday; and the Cuban leader, Fidel Castro, who cancelled plans to attend shortly before the summit opened.

Dominican Republican President Hipolito Mejia called for the countries to stick together in the face of widespread poverty.

"It's clear that the stability of our countries is today closely linked to a world where real crises and difficulties are breeding and developing," he said in an opening speech to the summit.

Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins de Cruz told Reuters news agency that the summit might help people to be more aware of poverty.

"A foreign minister I spoke to yesterday made the point that a cow in Europe gets more subsidies than a child in Central America," he said.