Kingstown, Mar. 1st. - The eighth summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) began today in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with the presence of representatives of the more than 30 member nations of the integration mechanism.
The national coordinator of the bloc, Douglas Slater, expressed his gratitude to the guests and highlighted, among others, the presence of the host president, Ralph Gonsalves, and his Honduran counterpart, Xiomara Castro, who will assume the pro-tempore presidency at this meeting. of the organism.
This is the most important diplomatic conclave that this island territory hosts in its history and holding it certainly projects both its profile and that of the Caribbean Community, in an increasingly complex international context, full of turbulence and in need of cooperation.
The aspiration is that this summit becomes a space for dialogue where political, economic, social and cultural integration is deepened, but also ties of solidarity and cooperation between the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean are consolidated.
Another goal will be to adopt a final declaration that reflects the priority interests of all the members of the bloc, incorporates special pronouncements on specific issues and also reflects the unified position regarding the problems that affect the region.
CELAC previously gathered its leaders during the meeting that saw its birth in Caracas, Venezuela (2011) and successively at the summits in Santiago, Chile (2013); Havana, Cuba (2014); Belén, Costa Rica (2015); Quito, Ecuador (2016); Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (2017); Mexico City, Mexico (2021) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (2023). (Text and photo: PL)
