Joint Statement by ACS, SELA, CAN, ALADI, CARICOM, SICA and ALBA-TCP within the framework of the VIII CELAC Summit

The Secretariats of the regional and integration organisations comprising the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI), Andean Community (CAN), the Community of Caribbean States (CARICOM), the Central American Integration System (SICA), and the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), participating as observers in the Handover Ceremony of the Presidency Pro Tempore (PPT) of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), being held in Kingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, on 1 March 2024, and convinced of the great relevance of building a common agenda for the benefit of regional integration:

  1. Recognise and congratulate the work done by St. Vincent and the Grenadines during its tenure as PPT to CELAC, in the period 2023.
  2. Agree to work together, seeking greater efficiency and avoiding duplication of efforts in the implementation of activities of regional interest, in order to have a relevant impact on the cooperation and development agenda of Latin America and the Caribbean.
  3. Stress the need to continue promoting cooperation and convergence among the various regional actors with the aim of fostering economic, social, and cultural integration through the exchange of experiences and joint work on food and nutrition security; production chains; disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation; sustainable energy and electricity integration; and cross-border cooperation and infrastructure, among other activities.
  4. State their commitment to continue supporting and strengthening the actions of their memberships to further work on the construction of a regional agenda for integration and cooperation in order to achieve effective results, through a productive and permanent dialogue with full respect for the sovereignty of their peoples and their economic, social and cultural diversity.
  5. Finally, the Secretariats express their warmest welcome and best wishes to Honduras in the performance of its functions as PPT to CELAC, reiterating their unrestricted support for the performance of its functions and expressing their full support for the fulfilment, complementarity and strengthening of its actions.
About the ACS

The Association of Caribbean States is the organization for consultation, cooperation and concerted action in trade, transport, sustainable tourism and natural disasters in the Greater Caribbean. Its Member States are Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Venezuela. Its Associate Members are Aruba, Curacao, (France on behalf of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint Martin ), Guadeloupe, Martinique, Sint Maarten, (The Netherlands on behalf of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius ), Turks and Caicos.