Cuba knows how to create integration between the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, and contributes to the unity of the region, Chilean Senator Alejandro Navarro said today.
In remarks to Prensa Latina, the legislator stated that the Chilean capital was the scene on the eve of a historic moment for the subcontinent, when Cuba assumed the pro tempore presidency of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
"Cuba's experience in the international solidarity is a necessary experience to integrate and unite, not to divide, and therefore it will be a successful presidency," said the senator, who chairs the Broad Social Movement party.
According to Navarro, it has been a happy coincidence that the Caribbean country assumed the CELAC presidency the same day of the 160th anniversary of the birth of its national hero Jose Marti.
"Despite the distance in time that separates us from Marti's life, his figure and ideas are still read by the new generations, and his Latin American vision is effective in the spirit of the CELAC, now with Cuba leading the bloc, the senator said.
President Raul Castro said yesterday that Cuba assumes the presidency of CELAC with a commitment to strengthen regional integration and coordination.
After receiving from his Chilean peer Sebastian Piñera the responsibility to lead the CELAC, the Cuban president described the mandate as a great honor, and expressed the island's purpose to make the ideal of independence heroes come true.
Raul Castro stated that Cuba will act during its mandate in accordance with international law, the U.N. Charter, and the fundamental principles that govern relations among countries.
The Cuban president said Cuba will start from the understanding of the diversity existing in the region, to promote unity and the fight for the common objective to achieve welfare and dignity of the Latin American and Caribbean countries.
The First Summit of CELAC took place for two days at this capital's Espacio Riesco conference center, and concluded with the Declaration of Santiago, a text that sets the issues of multilateralism, peace and social inclusion as priorities.
The 73-item document, which includes the 33 independent countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, supports the common interest of consolidating the political, economic, social and cultural integration.