PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad - President Barack Obama extended a hand to America's hemispheric neighbors today at a summit where he offered a new beginning for U.S.-Cuba relations and greeted Venezuela's leftist president who gave him a book about Latin America's exploitation by foreign powers.

U.S. relations with Havana and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez took center stage at the Summit of the Americas in this island capital. Obama signaled he was ready to accept Cuban President Raul Castro's proposal of talks on issues once off-limits for Cuba, including the scores of political prisoners held by the communist government.

Obama shook hands with Chavez, a leader who once likened former President George W. Bush to the devil, and casually exclaimed, "Como estas?"

"I think it was a good moment," Chavez said, describing his first grip and grin with Obama. "I think President Obama is an intelligent man, compared to the previous U.S. president."

Obama was taking part in a series of group gatherings and one-on-one meetings that the White House hoped to squeeze into a busy schedule. He hoped to make time for individual sessions with leaders from Canada, Colombia, Peru, Haiti and Chile, aides reported.

The president promised a new agenda for the Americas.

"We have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms," Obama said to loud applause. "But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations."