Lula heads to CELAC summit to promote Latin American integration
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is attending the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) this Wednesday (Apr. 9) in Honduras. CELAC is the only forum that brings together all 33 Latin American and Caribbean nations.
“The president’s participation underscores the priority that Lula and Brazil have consistently placed on regional integration. Article 4 of our Constitution calls for exactly what CELAC represents: the construction of a community of Latin American and Caribbean nations,” said Ambassador Gisela Padovan, Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
She noted that the summit is part of a process to revitalize CELAC, which had lost momentum in recent years. The ambassador recalled Brazil’s withdrawal from the group under the previous administration and highlighted President Lula’s decision to rejoin CELAC at the start of his third term.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects the summit to feature a broad discussion on all current issues. At the conclusion of the event, all 33 member countries will issue a joint declaration, and the rotating presidency of CELAC will be formally handed over to Colombia.
Lula is scheduled to travel to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, on Tuesday (8). Among Brazil’s proposals for the summit is the nomination of a female candidate for the position of United Nations secretary-general, as António Guterres’ term is set to end next year.
Celac
Established in February 2010, CELAC brings together all 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, spanning more than 22 million square kilometers—an area five times larger than the European Union. The region is home to 670 million people, twice the population of the United States.
