St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Prime Minister Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves has condemned what he described as the “criminal blockade against Cuba,” and called for “the liberation of the five antiterrorists from U.S. prisons,” according to reports in Havana, the Cuban capital.
“We have to work together in this globalized world to address international issues affecting our hemisphere. This includes demanding an end to the economic sanctions against Cuba,” said Gonsalves on arriving in Havana on Saturday for the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)-Cuba Summit.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a member of CARICOM, as well as the Bolivarian Alliance for Our Americas (ALBA), was the first delegation to arrive in Havana to participate in the fifth Summit, which began on Monday in the Cuban capital, according to Telesur (Telecommunications Company Suriname), the Suriname government-owned full telecommunications service provider.
The events took place at the Palace of the Revolution, where several regional leaders met to continue dialogue on integration and cooperation between the neighboring nations, Telesur said.
Topics the delegates will discuss at the summit include poverty, equality, and social justice.
Jennifer Jones-Kernahana, ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago to Cuba, affirmed to Prensa Latina, the Cuban news agency that the fifth CARICOM-Cuba Summit “will serve to strengthen regional ties and allow the Caribbean to act as a block in world political affairs.”
The first summit between Cuba and CARICOM member states took place in 2002 to commemorate 30 years of diplomatic relations between Havana and its Caribbean neighbors.
