XX ALBA-TCP Summit stage already prepared in Havana, Cuba. Photo by Twitter / @CD30_Barinas.
The 20th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) was inaugurated this Tuesday in Havana, Cuba, on the occasion of its 17th anniversary, to reaffirm regional unity and solidarity, and reject US interference in regional affairs.
Among other topics to be discussed are the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and the alliance’s action program for the coming year. Its objective is to defend the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, approved in Havana in accordance with the 2nd Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in 2014.
Last June, the 19th ALBA summit was held in Caracas, Venezuela, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo. At that time ALBA-TCP reaffirmed its rejection of the blockade against Cuba and the ongoing aggression against Venezuela and Nicaragua, as well as the destabilization attempts against the Bolivian government.
The alliance underlined the defense of solidarity and cooperation mechanisms in opposition to the self-serving policies advocated by the current and unjust international economic order. In this regard, it endorsed integration within the Caribbean region.
President Maduro arrives in Cuba
On the evening of Monday, December 13, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro arrived in Havana, Cuba, to participate in the summit. In a brief statement upon his arrival, he stressed that the alliance “is one of union, solidarity, and brotherhood. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America is an alliance for peace, for unity, for true solidarity, an alliance to build the new world with our identity and from our diversity. With our alliance, after having witnessed the entire year of 2020, of the pandemic, and the entire year 2021, the ALBA countries have managed to correctly respond to the pandemic crisis, to stand up, and today we are having the first post-pandemic face-to-face summit.”
¡Llegamos a Cuba! Recordando el encuentro entre dos Gigantes, los Comandantes Hugo Chávez y Fidel Castro, en quienes hubo una gran hermandad con un sueño comĂşn: la uniĂłn latinoamericana. De ahĂ vienen nuestros caminos, del ideal de BolĂvar y MartĂ, de su heroicidad y sus luchas. pic.twitter.com/iYN2HLYTsW
— Nicolás Maduro (@NicolasMaduro) December 14, 2021
Additionally, President Maduro said that the summit is being held to “discuss a post-pandemic economic, social, political plan, to discuss the new post-pandemic world. The year 2022 is already announced, this decade should find us united and strong, and here we are on our feet, whole and victorious for this summit.”
In addition, Maduro recalled the historic meeting between President Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. On that same date, December 13, in 1994, Chávez visited Cuba and was welcomed by Cuba’s President Fidel Castro and honored with a ceremony at University of Havana.
“Remember the meeting between two giants, Commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro, between whom there was a great brotherhood with a common dream: the Latin American union,” wrote President Maduro on his Twitter account. “This is where our journey originates, from the ideals of BolĂvar and MartĂ, from their heroism and their struggles.”
Featured image: 20th ALBA-TCP Summit stage prepared in Havana, Cuba. Photo by Twitter/@CD30_Barinas.
(Ăšltimas Noticias) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
