CUBA, February 5, 2007.- The 9th International Conference on Globalization and the Problems of Development starts on Monday in this capital and will run until February 9.Some 1,000 Cuban and foreign delegates from 40 countries around the world, including economists, sociologists, political and social scientists, will present 232 papers on the most crucial economic and social problems of today. They will also discuss new alternatives to boost the development of local economies."The myth of the national capitalist development in Latin America's new political situation" by Argentinean economist Atilio Borón, and "ALBA: Progress and obstacles in the popular Bolivarian process of integration" by Alberto Montero Soler, from the University of Malaga, are two of the papers to be presented.Debates will also centre on unsettled financial issues such as foreign debt, official aid for development, money remittances and the state of the main currencies and gold in the market.Likewise, participants will discuss the Doha round talks, presided over by the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the impact of the United State's Free Trade Area Agreement over Mexico. Experts from China, Russia and Western Europe will brief the audience on the transformations undertaken in those regions during the last few years.Other topics for debate include the role of the woman in economic and integral development, and the analysis of specific cases such as the Panama Canal and the strikes carried out in Chile by miners and students.

According to the Organizing Committee's sources, Serbia and Poland are participating in this event for the first time.