The 5th CARICOM Ministerial Meeting - Cuba began this Saturday at the Hotel Habana Libre, with the objective of consolidating ties and strengthening the role of the mechanism as a platform for political dialogue, consultation and cooperation among the nations of the area.
Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, Minister of Foreign Affairs and host of the meeting, said during the opening address: "We meet at a crucial moment for the region, which calls us to defend unity as a guarantee to preserve our sovereignty and independence."
In this regard, he referred to the importance of maintaining the Community of Latin American States (CELAC) as a key mechanism for political concertation, since it brings together the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bruno Rodriguez also highlighted the external dangers facing the region, including extreme trade protectionism, massive deportations and violation of the Paris Agreement on climate change. "We will work for the construction of an increasingly prosperous, equitable and sustainable Caribbean, convinced that we can achieve this," concluded the Minister.
High-level officials from the 15 Member States are talking today about common interests and how to move towards the inevitable Latin American and Caribbean unity. They review the progress of the integral relations between the island and the Caribbean Community and exchange on the new challenges imposed by the current international context.
The Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State, Salvador Valdés Mesa, and the Foreign Minister of Barbados, Senator Maxine McClean, representative of the CARICOM Council of Ministers, will preside over the Cuban Foreign Minister.
During the opening ceremony, McClean spoke about the importance of this space for "reciprocal expansion of market access", strengthening collaboration and "regional development". Regarding Cuba's relationship with CARICOM, the senator said: "We are friends and partners."
During the day, agreements will be signed with a view to concluding strategies for the strengthening and development of the Community, valuable instruments for advancing the cooperation objectives proposed by member nations.
Cuba attaches great importance to relations with the CARICOM countries, with which it maintains cooperative links in many areas such as health, education, training of human resources, energy and others.
The CARICOM-Cuba bilateral mechanism was established in 2002, promotes collaboration and contributes to strengthening relations between Latin America and the countries of the Caribbean community.
The meeting of the Caribbean Community in Havana takes place in the year that the island commemorates the 45th anniversary of CARICOM-Cuba Day. This date was set in tribute to the courageous gesture of the leaders of Guyana, Trinidad Tobago, Barbados, and Jamaica who, on December 8, 1972, established diplomatic relations with the Greater Antilles, thus breaking with the isolation that the United States imposed on the Cuban nation.