LatAm countries give preliminary approval to cooperation forum with China

Deputy foreign ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) approved preliminarily here on Sunday to build a cooperation forum with China among other proposals to be ratified at the 2nd Summit of the CELAC. "That means that all kinds of cooperation between Beijing and CELAC member nations will be consolidated, strengthened and institutionalized," Abelardo Moreno, Cuban deputy foreign minister and national coordinator of CELAC said at a press conference before the upcoming summit to be held on Jan. 28-29 in Havana. Heads of state are expected to discuss at the summit, themed "The Fight Against Poverty, Hunger And Inequality," measures to protect the region against the international financial crises' effect and constructing a regional financial architecture, as well as food security, environment and other issues. The CELAC, a regional bloc of 33 countries with roughly 600 million people, was founded on Feb. 3, 2010, at the Rio Group-Caribbean Community Unity Summit held in Mexico. The bloc, the result of a decade-long push for deeper integration within the Americas, seeks to deepen political, economic, social and cultural integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.