Ambassador Jeffrey Davidow, the U.S. official heading preparations for the conference in Trinidad and Tobago, said during a conference that Obama will pursue a closer, more equal partnership with Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The new administration is putting "a great emphasis on plans to work with, rather than plans for" the region, he said. "I think that day has passed."
But with much of the time leading to Obama's first trip south of the border focused on a potential thawing of frosty relationship with Cuba, Davidow warned the issue shouldn't get in the way of forging consensus on how to confront more critical needs in the region including the economic crisis and energy.
"I think it would be unfortunate, actually, to lose the opportunity for this hemisphere - at the beginning of the Obama administration - to set down some guidelines and make some progress jointly by getting distracted by the Cuban issue," Davidow said at a conference Thursday hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Calling Cuba the "odd man out," Davidow noted that the heads of all 34 governments attending the summit were democratically elected - even if the U.S. has "difficulty with some of the governments."
One constant source of difficulty has been Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has promised to voice his protest at the summit over Cuba's ongoing exclusion from the events that have been held about every four years since 1994.
Obama has signaled plans to ease some restrictions on U.S. citizens traveling to Cuba, as well as on remittances, which Davidow has said could be announced before the summit.
Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank, said at the conference there's no question that Cuba has to be part of any U.S. effort to improve relations with Latin America. But he agreed that it would be counterproductive for the summit to focus on Cuba.
Moreno welcomed the change in tone from the new U.S. administration in showing a willingness to listen and learn from its neighbors, but said issues like Cuba, immigration and security can't be treated separately from the economic crisis.
"This crisis in the U.S. is a financial crisis," he said, whereas Latin American and Caribbean countries are getting hit hardest in manufacturing and other parts of the real economy. The resulting layoffs have already started, which can lead to growing poverty and social unrest, he said.
Not only is the U.S. a major engine of growth for the region, but its efforts to counter the crisis with stimulus and bailouts are "crowding out" other countries' access to debt markets, said Moreno.
"So a lot of how the U.S. does this recovery is going to have a huge bearing on what happens in Latin America," he said.
Davidow agreed the economic crisis will be a major topic of discussion, at the summit, in particular the concern that recent progress in the hemisphere in growth and reducing poverty could be lost.
In addition, Obama is aware of "legitimate criticism" that the gains in many countries haven't been shared broadly enough in the population, he said, and thus the administration will place a stronger emphasis on social inclusion, education and health.
The U.S. will also propose an energy partnership for the Americas, tying together concerns about energy and climate change, he said.