Raúl Castro Stresses Agreement to Create a Regional Community

Cuba considers that the conditions exist for rapid progress towards the establishment of a purely regional Latin American and Caribbean organization that integrates and represents the 33 independent nations of the region, said the Cuban President in the Summit that wrapped up this morning at the Mayan Riviera, Mexico.

Speaking at the last session of the Summit, the Cuban president said the celebration in Caracas for the next summit in 2011 would be the right time to complete the preparatory work of the organization and implement it, according Prensa Latina news agency.

Being an independent nation is a prerequisite for being part of this entity, which will be characterized by the respect for cultural diversity, the different geographic and economic dimensions, the political system that each country adopts, the disparity of natural resources and social development, he said.

The Cuban President expressed the aspiration that the document establishing that body is efficiently drafted in order to deliver it during the next summit and he added that Cuba will work with dedication in this endeavor.

Raúl Castro acknowledged the adoption of a special document that demands for the ending of the unjust US economic, commercial and financial blockade, against Cuba and the expressions of solidarity with his country expressed in the presidential meeting.

The president began his speech with a fraternal message of the brother people of Cuba to Mexico, whose land has nurtured so many Latin Americans, including the leaders of the Cuban Revolution.

At the end of the morning, the Mexican President Felipe Calderón, the event’s host, closed this Summit, historical because of the range of integration for the region and the agreement to establish a regional organization without the presence of U.S. or Canada, which shall be constituted Caracas in July 2011.