Costa Rica News – CELAC, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States held their first meeting in Costa Rica. The foreign ministers of Costa Rica, Cuba, and Ecuador attended, as did the Ambassador of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Last year, Cuba was the pro tempore president of CELAC and this year, Costa Rica holds that title. The power will shift to Ecuador in the next period. Costa Rica became the pro tempore president beginning on January 29th of this year, at a consultation in Havana, Cuba.
The current president, at a press conference held at Casa Amarilla, explained that the meeting was to strengthen CELAC’s political communication and consensus. He also said that they had to set the schedule of activities for this year and for the National Coordinators meeting that will be on April 9 and 10th, also in San Jose. “The dialogue we have established will determine projects throughout 2014,” explained the Costa Rican Diplomat.
There are a total of 33 member nations, all participating to enjoy the benefits of mutual efforts on shared interests, such as sustainable development. The Cuban minister stated that the first meeting held in Costa Rica went smoothly. He also expressed an interest in including prospective extra-regional partners. On the schedule is an April 4th meeting in Beijing for the China-CELAC Forum. They will later schedule meetings with South Korea and the European Union.
