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 counterpart from Honduras, Xiomara Castro, who will assume the pro-tempore presidency of the organization at this meeting.
This is the most important diplomatic conclave that this island territory has hosted 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 urgent cooperation.
The aspiration is for this summit to become a space for dialogue to deepen political, economic, social and cultural integration, but also to consolidate the ties of solidarity and cooperation among the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Another goal will be to adopt a final declaration that reflects the priority interests of all members of the bloc, incorporates special pronouncements on specific issues and also reflects a unified position on the problems affecting the region.
Celac previously gathered its leaders during the meeting that saw its birth in Caracas, Venezuela (2011) and successively in the summits of Santiago, Chile (2013); Havana, Cuba (2014); Belen, Costa Rica (2015); Quito, Ecuador (2016); Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (2017); Mexico City, Mexico (2021) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (2023).