Haitian ambassador highlights Cuba's regional integration role - Institute of the Black World 21st Century

HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) — Haiti’s ambassador to Havana Jean Victor Généus said that Cuba, as pro-tempore chair of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), has taken all possible initiatives to provide the regional organization with the necessary dynamics and dimension towards its advancement.

In statements to the Cuban news agency, Généus said that the world will closely follow the forthcoming summit of the 33-member bloc, to be held in January in Havana. Under Cuba’s presidency, the Community established relations with the BRICS group of countries, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Cuba is the door to this region and the bridge between the Caribbean and Latin America, said the Haitian official, who explained that the island has been the chair of the organization as part of a troika that also includes Chile and Costa Rica.

The ambassador said that Cuba and Venezuela are leading nations in the regional organization, and he highlighted the contribution made by late Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, and by former Cuban president Fidel Castro. The two governments provided the thrust towards reconquest of Latin American and Caribbean sovereignty and dignity, he said.

The upcoming summit in Havana will deepen the search for solutions to problems in the fields of education, health, the environment and to the reduction of social inequalities, which are topics that count in the consensus for joint work, he said.