Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged Thursday to back female entrepreneurs, promote small business and modernize customs procedures as part of US efforts to boost Latin American prosperity.

In a speech to regional foreign ministers in Costa Rica, Clinton said Washington will also help teach more people English and Spanish, cut environmental costs for business, and expand lending opportunities for all.

The chief US diplomat put particular stress on support for business women, which is part of her broader strategy to lift countries out of poverty by supporting the too-often neglected half of the population.

"We know that women still today are often overlooked or excluded, especially when they go for credit," Clinton said after meeting women entrepreneurs here.

"Even though they are innovative, energetic, hard-working, and committed, we're not doing enough to support their businesses and efforts," she told ministers in a luxury hotel in San Jose by lush green mist-shrouded hills.

Costa Rican Monica Araya, chairwoman of the Central American Federation of Chambers of Commerce, said women entrepreneurs have been present in services, tourism, or finances, but are now entering new fields like the agro-industrial sector.

She cited the Costa Rican cofee industry where two women coffee growers received the national prize for excellence.

The event here was a "Pathways to Prosperity" roundtable, which was launched by the previous administration of George W. Bush -- something Clinton has not only embraced but vowed to build on.

Participating countries include six Central American countries as well as Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States.

Clinton also pledged to organize exchange visits in order to share more widely the US model of small business development centers where people obtain information and advice about launching a business.

She challenged Latin American countries to match a goal set by the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which has agreed to reduce trade logistics delays and costs by five percent.

The secretary also said Washington will continue to support programs teaching people across the region English and Americans Spanish.

She also promised to continue helping small and medium-sized enterprises "decrease the amount of water, energy and raw material they use, to protect natural resources, shrink carbon emissions, and save costs."

The United States, she said, is also committed to working with its partners to modernize lending laws to make life easier for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Clinton was due to meet later with president-elect Laura Chinchilla, set to become Costa Rica's first female head of state. She also met with President Oscar Arias, who hands over to Chinchilla on May 8.

This is the fifth stop in Clinton's six-country Latin America tour, which she completes Friday in Guatemala, where she attends another meeting with regional leaders.

The ministers issued a declaration at the end of the summit vowing to continue individual and collective efforts to assist the people and government of Haiti following the January 12 quake.