President Danilo Medina gave the keynote address at the V Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) taking place in Punta Cana 24-25 January 2017.
President Medina spoke of his conviction that the participation of Latin American countries in the global economy has served to improve the living conditions of the people of the member states of the CELAC regional block. He observed that already the 33 member nations have signed 164 bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements.
Medina expressed his concern that after decades of structural reforms to insert the region into the global economy, improve regional competitiveness and living conditions, all this could be lost if the US, Europe and China continue to adopt protectionist measures that in the past he says have only served to generate poverty. He expressed concern over Brexit and the Trump Administration announcements regarding trade agreements.
“We need to do all within our reach to prevent the return to the past that is now being sold as better than the present state of development. We need to preserve the advantages of an interconnected world, while we protect the achievements in social welfare for the majority in our countries. These are not times for isolation or going backwards, but rather to strengthen our ties, to move forward with accentuated impulse,” he stated.
He expressed his support to increasing productivity, taking measures to reduce tax evasion, reorienting public spending to give priority to basic social needs and increasing intra-regional trade.
Regarding the CELAC, he said the community “should be our headquarters for the battle to ensure that millions in Latin American and the Caribbean that have improved their living standards do not return to poverty.”
He called the CELAC gatherings a privileged place to exchange excellent experiences on bringing the knowledge society to the masses in the region. “It is here, definitely, in this alliance of peoples, in this community of brothers, where we can find the ideas, the roads, the actions and the political will to make reality the historic destiny of Latin America and the Caribbean,” he told the international visitors.The event is taking place at the Barceló Bávaro Beach Convention Center in Punta Cana from 24-25 January 2017. CELAC promotes regional integration and development. After the opening event, the visitors enjoyed the music by merengue star Wilfrido Vargas in the convention center.
While they had been announced, the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela did not make the trip.
Attending were Central American statesmen Salvador Sánchez Cerén, El Salvador; and Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua. Also, attending were Evo Morales, Bolivia; Rafael Correa, Ecuador; David Granger, Guyana from South America. Raul Castro Ruz, Cuba, the acting President of Haiti, Jocelerme Privert, the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, the president of Dominica, Charles Savarin; and the governor general of Antigua & Barbuda Rodney Williams for the Caribbean.
During the summit, the temporary presidency of the regional block that the Dominican Republic has held for the past two years will be passed to El Salvador.
Read more in Spanish:
Presidencia
25 January 2017
