The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac)

Rousseff, Fernández open the doors to Celac Summit
Foreign ministers will refine the agreement to be initialed by Latin American and Caribbean presidents in their meeting on December 2-3. The summit will bring to life a regional body comprising 33 countries that will receive the "heritage" of the Rio Group and the Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Senior officials met on Wednesday in Caracas in the preparations for the Celac Summit (Photo: AVN)

EL UNIVERSAL | Wednesday November 30, 2011 05:39 PM

Argentinean President Cristina Fernández and her Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff will be the first two heads of state arriving in Venezuela to attend the Summit of the Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (Celac). Thirty-two countries have been invited to the meeting that will take place on December 2-3 in Caracas.

Fernandez is scheduled to arrive in Caracas on Wednesday night, while Rousseff will be in Caracas on Thursday. Both are expected to hold a bilateral meeting on December 2, before the presidential summit, which will be preceded by a meeting of foreign ministers on December 1, EFE reported.

Foreign ministers will refine the agreement to be initialed by Latin American and Caribbean presidents in their meeting on December 2-3. The summit will bring to life a regional body comprising 33 countries that will receive the "heritage" of the Rio Group and the Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean (CALC).

Both the US and Canada are excluded from Celac.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez reported days ago that the Heads of State and Government and the Prime Ministers of the 32 countries composing Celac together with Venezuela have confirmed their attendance to the summit.

Fernández, who will be the first regional leader to arrive in Caracas, will meet on Thursday with Chávez. Both presidents are close friends.

"We always have issues of bilateral interest in our agenda, such as transfer technology and expertise in the industrial, food, and cultural areas," said Argentina's Ambassador to Venezuela Ana Alicia de Castro on October 26.

Fernández's visit to Caracas is her first trip abroad since her re-election with more than 53% of the vote on October 23.

Chávez describes Fernández as one of the "major champions" of the "South American Union."

Argentinean Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman said on November 22 that he has "great expectations" about the Celac Summit. "The mere fact of having achieved the unity of all the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean is something that will be remembered in history," noted Timerman.

Timerman stressed that the inclusion of the Caribbean "is a key piece" in the recovery of a region "that had been divided" by the "dominant powers."

On June 6, when Rousseff welcomed Chávez in Brasilia shortly before her Venezuelan counterpart underwent surgery in Cuba to remove a cancerous tumor, she declared that her country was ready to support any initiative to turn South America into a zone of peace and democracy.

"Brazil and Venezuela have a common goal to turn South America into a place of peace, democracy, development, and respect for human rights," said Rousseff.

In the framework of the Celac Summit, a meeting of representatives of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) will take place as well.

Translated by Maryflor Suárez R.

..............................................................................................................................


A Note From The Gull

"The creation of Celac coincides with the search for a regional institutional framework that brings together the countries that are part of the Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean and the Rio Group in a political bloc that serves as their voice."

All heads of State and Government are expected to be present in the meeting, which was initially scheduled for July 2011, but was postponed due to President Hugo Chavez's illness. The meetings are taking place at Venezuela's largest military base, Fort Tiuna, in southwest Caracas.

The CELAC is a multilateral political body whose main objective is to consolidate the integration and complementarity among the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Founded on 23 Feb 2010 in Mexico, it groups all the countries of the Americas except the United States and Canada...

"Venezuela describes the founding of CELAC as part of the continued emancipation of the region. Once formalized, it is expected to function parallel to the Organization of American States (OAS), which includes the United States and Canada. Venezuela, the interim president, and Chile have been selected to write the organization’s statutes and host its summits over the next two years.

"According to the draft charter, a central concept of the bloc's multilateral trade is that it won't be dominated by any one country. Economic, financial, and technological cooperation should be promoted among already existing regional integration organizations, according to the document. It lists the Common Market of the South, the Community of Andean Nations, the Caribbean Community, and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America.

"The charter aims to address the inequality of wealth in the CELAC region. SOURCE"

So wish I could have been there to witness this historic event.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare