HAVANA, Dec 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Latin American countries attending the 20th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) in Havana approved a final declaration that ratified the bloc’s commitment to regional integration.
“We ratify our commitment to genuine Latin American and Caribbean integration, which allows us to jointly confront the objectives of imperialist domination and hegemony and the growing threats to regional peace and stability,” the declaration said.
As summed up by Cuban President and summit host Miguel Diaz-Canel, the document reaffirmed the right of every state to build its own political, economic, social and cultural system, free from unilateral coercive measures, threats and aggressions.
The declaration, approved by representatives of the bloc’s 10 member countries, rejected the imposition and application of unilateral coercive measures against alliance members, particularly the more-than-half-century blockade the United States has imposed on Cuba.
In addition, countries approved the 2022 Post-pandemic Work Plan previously presented by the bloc’s Secretary General Sacha Llorenti, which advocates expanding and consolidating political consensus and technical cooperation with third countries and international organizations.
Focusing on the economy, the plan advocates developing a comprehensive economic, trade, financial and monetary development plan for the alliance.
At the summit’s opening session, Diaz-Canel affirmed the bloc did not lose sight of its goals despite the difficulties experienced this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hostility from Washington.
“ALBA stayed the course. It adjusted the practice of solidarity to the possibilities of each member and cooperation was immediate,” said the Cuban president.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega described COVID-19 and neoliberalism as the two scourges plaguing the planet, saying both “caused so much damage and chaos around the world.”
Bolivian President Luis Arce praised the strength of the alliance in the face of capitalist integration mechanisms that practice selective neo-protectionism, saying they must be “tackled by a bloc such as the one that brings us together today.”
The alliance was founded 17 years ago by the late Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s reformist leader Hugo Chavez, to promote solidarity, political consensus, cooperation, integration and unity against imperialist interference. — NNN-XINHUA
