Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, today, to participate in the 12th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

Machado Ventura traveled to this city accompanied by Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez. Both officials were received with military honors by representatives of the Ecuadorian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with whom he discussed about the ALBA, its importance, and the need to strengthen this regional body.

The Cuban vice president will attend tomorrow the ALBA presidential meeting in which topics such as the ALBA-TCP institutional strengthening, and the widespread use and expansion of the Unified System for Regional Compensation (SUCRE) will be debated.

They will also discuss the Common Reserve Fund and the increasing social programs and missions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Heads of State and Government, as well as official delegations of the member countries of the body, including Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Dominica, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Antigua and Barbuda, and St. Lucia, will attend the ALBA Summit.

According to agenda, the Cuban representative will participate in other events, as part of the Social Movements Summit taking place here today and tomorrow.