Argentina hosts today the 7th Summit of CELAC

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 24 (ACN) The city of Buenos Aires is hosting today representatives of the 33 member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to celebrate the 7th Summit of this integration mechanism.

Cuba will confirm at the meeting its commitment to unity in diversity and the strengthening of cooperation, solidarity and regional integration, and will reaffirm the importance of preserving Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez said today on Twitter.

The foreign minister is part of the delegation from the Caribbean nation, which is headed by the President of the Republic, Miguel Diaz-Canel, and also includes the minister of foreign trade and investment, Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, and the Cuban ambassador to the host country, Pedro Pablo Prada.

Argentina, which last year assumed the pro tempore presidency of CELAC, indicated in a recent statement that this 7th Summit will seek to deepen cooperation and joint work in order to strengthen the region's voice in the global scenario and face local challenges.

The return of Brazil to CELAC, after the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as head of state, will be a highlight of the event, showing the willingness of the South American country to accompany the process of consolidation of regional unity.
The Summit will not be attended by Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, who informed on Monday that he decided not to attend the meeting, after detecting a "plan of the neo-fascist right wing", aimed at carrying out a series of aggressions against his country's delegation.

During the pro tempore presidency of CELAC, Argentina worked on 15 objectives, linked to health strategy, economic and productive recovery, risk management in disaster situations and food security, the revaluation of science, technology and innovation, as tools at the service of development and inclusion.

The founding Summit of CELAC took place in December 2011 in Venezuela, when Army General Raul Castro, representing Cuba, defined this organization as "our most precious work", whose purpose is to strengthen a united and sovereign region, committed to a common destiny.