Cuba Hopes for Celac Summit in Ecuador to Strengthen Integration

First Vice President of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel, expressed today his wish that the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), to be held here tomorrow, helps to strengthen regional integration and coordination. We hope it will be a successful summit to strengthen integration and coordination among the countries and peoples of the region, said Diaz-Canel as he arrived today to the international airort of Quito, where he was welcomed by Ecuadorian Minitser of Culture, Guillaume Long.

The leader of the Cuban delegation also said he was attending the 4th continental meeting of Celac with the willingness to defend the foundational principles of an organization he described as indispensable, legitimate, unitary and diverse.

"We defend above all unity within our diversity," said Diaz-Canel.

The First Vice President of Cuba also conveyed warm gretings to the Ecuadorian people and Government from the Cuban people, the historical leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, and President Raul Castro.

The 4th Summit of Celac, a pro-integration body founded in 2010, will be held tomorrow at the headquarters of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) at Ciudad Miad del Mundo (Middle of the World City) some 15 km north of Quito.

According to the hosts, delegations from the 33 member countries of Celac, including some twenty heads of State or Government, will attend.

The central topic of the meeting will be the consolidation of the so-called Agena 2020, adopted last year in Costa Rica, envisaging the eradication of extreme poverty and inequality; education, science and technology; the fight against climate change; infrastructure, and funding for development.

The agenda and the content of declarations to be adopted in the presidential summit are being defined today by Foreign ministers in a closed-door meeting at the Unasur headquarters, with Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino extolling the process of unity developed by Celac.