WASHINGTON, April 20 (Xinhua) -- The North America summit is due to take place in New Orleans, Louisiana Monday and Tuesday, but as U.S. President George W. Bush has become a somewhat "lame-duck" president, analysts are expecting no significant outcome from the gathering.

    The summit meeting between Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderonn will be the last for Bush, who has only about nine months left before he leaves the White House and whose approval rating is only 31 percent, the lowest in his presidency.

    His numbered days in the White House, low popularity, and the fact that the opposition Democrats have taken control of the Congress have greatly reduced Bush's capability to make big decisions, which is why analysts are widely playing down on the expectations of the yearly meeting.

    They believe the leaders are very likely to reaffirm their commitment to common issues including security, trade, anti-drug cooperation at the summit, or formally called the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice particularly highlighted the importance of the scheme for promoting the U.S.-Canada-Mexico cooperation at a press conference Saturday.

    "This SPP has been a very useful mechanism for organizing the multifaceted work that Canada, the United States and Mexico undertake together. It is work that bridges all of the important issues: security, trade, prosperity," Rice told a joint press conference with visiting Mexican Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa and Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier after their meeting to lay ground work for the summit.

    "It has also permitted the leaders to engage the public and private sectors and civil society through the North American Competitiveness Council. And they look forward to, again, engaging that council, because obviously, trade and prosperity and a good life for the people of North America is not just the work of government alone," Rice said.

    What can be expected is that the leaders might put forward a few minor initiatives or agreements as Espinosa revealed at Saturday's press conference.

    "We have spoken about one initiative, which is to act jointly in cases of disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean," he said, adding: "This is, in our view, a very important initiative. We will be putting our efforts together to establish a fund so that we can act together immediately when there is a disaster situation."

    Additionally, the leaders are expected to reaffirm their commitment to holding the annual summit and high-level dialogue.

    "We have also discussed that we should strengthen and make a permanent commitment with the continuity of this high-level dialogue in North America at all levels and particularly at the level of heads of state and government," Espinosa said.

    "The meeting of the summit of the leaders of North America reflects not only what Secretary Rice has already mentioned, the SPP agenda, but also an agenda that goes beyond these issues that have been traditionally part of their security and prosperity agenda. And this is something that we are certain that will emerge as a result of the leaders meeting," the Mexican foreign minister said.