The Ibero-American leaders have launched a message of regional cohesion this Saturday at the XXVIII community summit. The host president, the Dominican Luis Abinader, has called for unity under the umbrella of solidarity, justice, cooperation and multilateralism and preservation of peace. The meeting has the objective of defining and approving three documents on climate change, food security and digitization. In addition, the presidents and government representatives meeting in Santo Domingo will raise other debates, for example on the economy, migration and other regional emergencies.
While early in the morning the Venezuelan authorities wanted to keep the mystery regarding a surprise appearance by Nicolás Maduro, the meeting’s agenda included the intervention of 14 heads of state and leaders, including King Felipe VI and the President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez. Later, it is expected that three vice presidents, five foreign ministers and, finally, the undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean of Mexico will speak.
Former Chilean Foreign Minister Andrés Allamand, who heads the Ibero-American Secretariat, hoped on Friday night during the inauguration of the summit that the debate would help achieve “concrete results that have a positive impact on the quality of life of Ibero-Americans.” The idea is that the 22 countries that make up the community take advantage of the Spanish presidency of the Council of the European Union, in the second half of this year, to bring the two shores of the Atlantic closer together. In Allamand’s words, it is an opportunity “to generate an agenda for the future between Latin America and Europe to work together to solve problems such as climate change, which is an existential threat to humanity.”
Climate challenges are the central axis of the event, which is held under the motto “Together for a fair and sustainable Ibero-America”. After the lack of consensus and Cuba’s opposition to a declaration that proposed a reform of the international financial system to facilitate access to credit, especially in Latin America, everything is focused on the approval of two documents and a strategy: an Environmental Charter o Ibero-American Green Pact, a Charter of Digital Rights Principles and a Food Security Strategy. Cuba is one of the countries that announced their intention to force a discussion on the trade blockade with the purpose of achieving a condemnation of the embargo, as has happened on other occasions in the United Nations.
