“We shall prove that there is a solution to many of the planet’s tragedies. We are proving that man can and must better himself. We are proving the value of conscience and ethics.”
With these convinced words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-CanelBermúdez greeted the 16th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in his intervention at the 18th Summit of this organization held online.
The Cuban president especially celebrated the return of Bolivia to the Alliance, condemned the US-promoted attempts at destabilization against several countries of Latin America and called for greater unity and cooperation, mainly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the continent.
“By means of a fraternal and diaphanous dialogue, we will coordinate ideas and actions that help us strengthen cooperation, solidarity, unity, integration and the defense of peace in the region,” he said.
Also in favor of strengthening the complementation of the Americas spoke the Heads of State of Venezuela, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and representatives of the rest of the state members. In the summit, the members also went over the reactivation of the Economic Council of ALBA, of Sucre as currency of exchange, the reactivation of the cryptocurrency, the strengthening of the bank of ALBA, and the creation of a center for vaccines and medical consumables to treat COVID-19.
“Big challenges lie ahead for ALBA to keep tending to the cooperation and development of our peoplesin an integral way,” said the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, who paid tribute to the memory of Fidel and Chávez as founding fathers of the multinational body, which he described as “world champion of just causes, dignity, the right to life, peace and development.”
An anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative
The importance of continuing to uphold and promote the principles based on the sovereignty, cooperation, solidarity and Independence of the state members was the common point in the interventions at the 18th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held online on Monday.
The heads of State and Government of the member states and other representatives confirmed their commitment to strengthen the integration mechanism years after it was created by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruzand Commander Chávez Frías.
The debate focused mainly on the analysis on the current political situation and the challenges posed by the COVID-19pandemic, as well as the importance of the reincorporation of Bolivia to the bloc. Another reason to celebrate was the victory of the Great Patriotic Pole inVenezuela and the re-elections of Ralph Gonsalves as Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesand Timothy Harris as Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, respectively.
The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, in his capacity as moderator of the Summit, explained that the decision to create the ALBA-TCP was to provide an anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative and that the challenges ahead can be faced by means of cooperation and development of the peoples of the Americas.
He added that the ministries of foreign affairs have been working jointly on a set of proposals and documents to enter the year 2021 with greater strength and dynamism. “ALBA is a world champion of just causes, dignity, the right of humankind to life, peace and development.”
The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega; the prime ministers of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda; Roosevelt Skerrit, Ralph Gonsalvesand Gaston Browne, respectively, among other representatives, condemned hegemony and advocated for multilateralism, and rejected the coercivemeasures against sovereign nations and the interference of powerful countries in the internal affairs of developing countries. They tanked the support provided by Cuba to the countries of the region and the world in the struggle against COVID-19, and highlighted the importance of ALBA as a political leading force and as a forum to coordinate the courageous and revolutionary standings in the region.
BOLIVIA COMES BACK HOME
The participants in the Summit celebrated the return of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the Alliance. The President of Bolivia Luis Arce said via video message: “We return to the ALBA-TCP and now we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of solidarity, integration, complementarity, mutual respect, justice, equality, respect for cultural diversity and harmony with nature.”
He added that the achievements in more than a decade and half were not easy nor scarce, however, “our duty is to advance to reach the unity of our countries and to carry on the work of our predecessors.” In the current times, it means to take measures that stimulate growth and the strengthening of sovereign and sustainable instruments with humankind at the center. He also emphasized the role of ALBA as an instrument against neoliberalism, submission and exclusion and strengthening it is not an option, but something urgent to do.
MAIN AGREEMENTS
Some of the main agreements made at the Summit included the reactivation of the ALBA’s Economic Council and the Sucre as exchange currency, the activation of cryptocurrency, the strengthening of Petrocaribe and the Bank of the organization that provides financial aid and funds to the state members.
Alba Comunicativawas another of the proposed mechanisms in which the national agendas and common interests would be discussed every two weeks at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs. It was also proposed that the coordination of the Social Bloc of the body was coordinated from Bolivia with the approach that, in order to attain integration, it is necessary to increase the exchange among governments and the peoples.
The creation of a Medicine Bank, namely for vaccines to treat the SARS-COV-2, was a frequent request among the representatives of each delegation and it was decided that Cuba and Venezuela coordinate this project.
The participants voted unanimously for the election of the former minister and former permanent representative of Bolivia to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti as Secretary General of the Alliance. Once elected, Llorenti read the Declaration of the 18th Summit of the ALBA-TCP, where it was vindicated the ideas of the leaders of the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean “as the historical and cultural memory that brings us together in an instrument of unity and development of our people” and declared the Alliance in permanent consultation and activity.
Photocaption:
Translated by ESTI
ALBA-TCP, world champion of the just causes, dignity and the right to life
Ana Laura Palomino and Milagros Pichardo
“We shall prove that there is a solution to many of the planet’s tragedies. We are proving that man can and must better himself. We are proving the value of conscience and ethics.”
With these convinced words of the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution Fidel Castro, the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-CanelBermúdez greeted the 16th anniversary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP), in his intervention at the 18th Summit of this organization held online.
The Cuban president especially celebrated the return of Bolivia to the Alliance, condemned the US-promoted attempts at destabilization against several countries of Latin America and called for greater unity and cooperation, mainly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic ravaging the continent.
“By means of a fraternal and diaphanous dialogue, we will coordinate ideas and actions that help us strengthen cooperation, solidarity, unity, integration and the defense of peace in the region,” he said.
Also in favor of strengthening the complementation of the Americas spoke the Heads of State of Venezuela, Dominica, Nicaragua, Bolivia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and representatives of the rest of the state members. In the summit, the members also went over the reactivation of the Economic Council of ALBA, of Sucre as currency of exchange, the reactivation of the cryptocurrency, the strengthening of the bank of ALBA, and the creation of a center for vaccines and medical consumables to treat COVID-19.
“Big challenges lie ahead for ALBA to keep tending to the cooperation and development of our peoplesin an integral way,” said the President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, who paid tribute to the memory of Fidel and Chávez as founding fathers of the multinational body, which he described as “world champion of just causes, dignity, the right to life, peace and development.”
An anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative
The importance of continuing to uphold and promote the principles based on the sovereignty, cooperation, solidarity and Independence of the state members was the common point in the interventions at the 18th Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the America- People’s Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) held online on Monday.
The heads of State and Government of the member states and other representatives confirmed their commitment to strengthen the integration mechanism years after it was created by Commander in Chief Fidel Castro Ruzand Commander Chávez Frías.
The debate focused mainly on the analysis on the current political situation and the challenges posed by the COVID-19pandemic, as well as the importance of the reincorporation of Bolivia to the bloc. Another reason to celebrate was the victory of the Great Patriotic Pole inVenezuela and the re-elections of Ralph Gonsalves as Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesand Timothy Harris as Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, respectively.
The President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro, in his capacity as moderator of the Summit, explained that the decision to create the ALBA-TCP was to provide an anti-neoliberal, supportive, popular and humanist alternative and that the challenges ahead can be faced by means of cooperation and development of the peoples of the Americas.
He added that the ministries of foreign affairs have been working jointly on a set of proposals and documents to enter the year 2021 with greater strength and dynamism. “ALBA is a world champion of just causes, dignity, the right of humankind to life, peace and development.”
The President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega; the prime ministers of Dominica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda; Roosevelt Skerrit, Ralph Gonsalvesand Gaston Browne, respectively, among other representatives, condemned hegemony and advocated for multilateralism, and rejected the coercivemeasures against sovereign nations and the interference of powerful countries in the internal affairs of developing countries. They tanked the support provided by Cuba to the countries of the region and the world in the struggle against COVID-19, and highlighted the importance of ALBA as a political leading force and as a forum to coordinate the courageous and revolutionary standings in the region.
BOLIVIA COMES BACK HOME
The participants in the Summit celebrated the return of the Plurinational State of Bolivia to the Alliance. The President of Bolivia Luis Arce said via video message: “We return to the ALBA-TCP and now we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of solidarity, integration, complementarity, mutual respect, justice, equality, respect for cultural diversity and harmony with nature.”
He added that the achievements in more than a decade and half were not easy nor scarce, however, “our duty is to advance to reach the unity of our countries and to carry on the work of our predecessors.” In the current times, it means to take measures that stimulate growth and the strengthening of sovereign and sustainable instruments with humankind at the center. He also emphasized the role of ALBA as an instrument against neoliberalism, submission and exclusion and strengthening it is not an option, but something urgent to do.
MAIN AGREEMENTS
Some of the main agreements made at the Summit included the reactivation of the ALBA’s Economic Council and the Sucre as exchange currency, the activation of cryptocurrency, the strengthening of Petrocaribe and the Bank of the organization that provides financial aid and funds to the state members.
Alba Comunicativawas another of the proposed mechanisms in which the national agendas and common interests would be discussed every two weeks at the level of the ministries of foreign affairs. It was also proposed that the coordination of the Social Bloc of the body was coordinated from Bolivia with the approach that, in order to attain integration, it is necessary to increase the exchange among governments and the peoples.
The creation of a Medicine Bank, namely for vaccines to treat the SARS-COV-2, was a frequent request among the representatives of each delegation and it was decided that Cuba and Venezuela coordinate this project.
The participants voted unanimously for the election of the former minister and former permanent representative of Bolivia to the United Nations Sacha Llorenti as Secretary General of the Alliance. Once elected, Llorenti read the Declaration of the 18th Summit of the ALBA-TCP, where it was vindicated the ideas of the leaders of the independence of Latin America and the Caribbean “as the historical and cultural memory that brings us together in an instrument of unity and development of our people” and declared the Alliance in permanent consultation and activity.
(Taken from Granma)