I am ready to meet even our enemies: Barack Obama

ALEXANDRIA (USA): American presidential candidate Barack Obama has said his election would change perceptions of the US overseas and argued that his own international background gave him an understanding and credibility with foreign leaders and people.

In a rare and lengthy discussion on foreign policy, other than Iraq or terrorism, at a high school rally in northern Virginia, Obama reiterated on Sunday that he would meet foreign adversaries, including Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.

"I will meet not just with our friends but with our enemies, not just with those we agree with but those we don't," Obama said, answering a question on Venezuela from the audience of more than 2,000 in Alexandria.

Obama also said his Kenyan, Muslim father and the early years of his life spent in Indonesia, the world's largest predominantly Muslim nation, gave him an understanding that would help in negotiations with Muslim leaders.

"They may know that I'm Christian but they also know that I lived in Indonesia, and so I understand their culture," he said.

Obama moved to Indonesia with his mother and stepfather at the age of six and spent four years in the country before moving back to his birthplace of Hawaii. His biological father left him and his mother when Obama was two years old to return to Kenya, where Obama still has relatives.

Obama, 46, is vying to be the first African American president and is locked in a tight battle with Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party's nomination.

Obama said a key reason he was running for president was that his success despite his own 'funny name' and background would help heal the country's own divisions and restore US credibility abroad.

"The day I'm inaugurated, I think this country looks at itself differently," he said. "It changes our perceptions in this country but it also changes perceptions oversees."

Obama warned that the US has ignored Latin America 'at our peril' while growing economic powers such as China invested in the continent's infrastructure and established trade ties, and he chided the current US administration for viewing Latin America as a 'junior partner.'

"Our Latin American policy cannot just be 'I oppose Castro, I oppose Chavez' and that's the end of it," he said, but added that talks with such leaders had to make clear US priorities.

"We are going to talk about human rights, we are going to talk about freedom of the press, we are going to talk about political prisoners in Cuba," he said.

Obama strongly attacked Chavez for the treatment of his people and his attempt to gain a stranglehold on power.

"I don't actually agree with Chavez's policies or how he's dealing with his people. I think he has consolidated power. I think he has strong despotic tendencies. I think that he's been using oil revenue to stir up trouble against the United States," Obama said.

"So he is not a leader that I admire," he said.

Obama also criticized African leaders for failing to unlock the 'boundless' potential of the continent, but said wealthy nations had an obligation to work with the poverty-stricken region. He called for the US to sign trade agreements that could 'hugely' benefit Africa without harming the US economy.

Economic development and investment in Africa would only be successful if 'we have leaders who are willing to root out corruption, institute basic rule of law and overcome tribal divisions,' he said.