Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Caracas, Dec 12. - The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA, for its acronym in Spanish) approved a declaration calling for an end to the economic, commercial, and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba over six decades ago.
During the 51st Session of SELA's Latin American Council, the member states of the bloc considered this siege -which Havana recognizes as a brutal economic war- to be incompatible with and a violation of International Law, contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
During the meeting, the Council members also approved the organization's 2026-2029 Work Program, which is aimed at building a more prosperous, competitive, and inclusive region through strengthening the institutional capacities of member states.
It also seeks to promote technical cooperation and the generation of innovative solutions that enhance regional resilience in the face of current and future challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean.
A press release noted that planning for the coming year is focused on the areas of Economic Recovery, Digitalization and Infrastructure, and Social Development, which align regional priorities with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
The first aims to break the low-growth trap by strengthening integration, planning activities related to Economic Integration, Trade Facilitation, and support for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The second focuses on the transformation towards a digitized and smart economy and the transition towards sustainable and resilient physical infrastructure, with defined activities for Digital Transformation, Sustainable Energy Infrastructure, and Sustainable Computing Infrastructure.
Social Development aims to achieve the eradication of poverty and the mitigation of inequality in the region, especially among the most vulnerable groups, through Sustainable and Resilient Development, Comprehensive Risk and Climate Change Management, along with the promotion of a comprehensive vision of Human Mobility.
With this 2026-2029 work program, SELA reaffirmed its role as a coordinating, capacity-building, and proactive organization, through the optimal promotion of inclusive and sustainable public policies, materializing strategic alliances that facilitate regional integration and productive transformation, it stated.
Along with that program, the 2024 Audit Report of the Financial Statements of the Permanent Secretariat was also approved, as well as the designation of a new Board of Directors headed by Colombia, Uruguay, Barbados, and Cuba. (Text and photo: PL)
