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CUBA, December 17, 2008. The First Latin American and Caribbean Summit on Integration and Development wound up in the locality of Costa de Sauipe, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, after affirming its commitment to the defense of sovereignty and the right of nations to build their own political systems, free of threats, aggressions and coercive unilateral measures. The two-day summit issued a final declaration in which all 33 heads of state agreed that each country is free to take its own decision under peaceful conditions, marked by stability, justice, democracy and the respect to human rights. The regional leaders said that political, economic, social and cultural integration of the region is a crucial factor to advance towards sustainable development and the wellbeing of their nations. They reiterated their commitment to build a fairer, equitable and harmonic international order under the respect to international law and the principles stated on the UN Charter, including sovereign equality of the states and a peaceful solution to controversies. The heads of state also favored the respect to territorial integrity, non-interference with internal affairs of the states and the strengthening of multilateralism as a crucial way to achieve a more stable and peaceful world. In the final document, participants also stressed the urgent need to launch a true reform of the United Nations that strengthens the international organization by guaranteeing its efficiency, transparency, representativeness and democratization of its main bodies, the Security Council in particular. The declaration underscores the urgent need for regional cooperation and integration efforts in the field of energy given the huge unbalance between offer and demand of energy around the world. The Latin American and Caribbean heads of state also expressed their deep concern about the current world financial crisis and they recalled that the developed countries caused such a situation and they must assume the cost of its solution. They also called for more active participation of developing nations in the construction of a new financial system. (Cubaminrex- ACN) |