Havana, Cuba.- The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and national coordinator for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Anayansi Rodríguez, spoke at the opening segment of the XI Meeting of National Coordinators of the mechanism.

According to the Cuban Foreign Ministry on its website, Rodríguez highlighted the vital importance of CELAC and the principle of unity in diversity in the face of the challenges facing the region.

She also referred to the need to preserve and protect the historical heritage of the Community and not to backtrack on the consensus reached.

She encouraged the next Summit to focus its attention on issues of vital importance for the region such as the commitment to the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace; the rejection of unilateral coercive measures; South-South cooperation and the relationship between CELAC and extra-regional partners.

In a context of marked aggressiveness by the current United States government against Cuba, the deputy minister of foreign affairs thanked the numerous expressions of support and solidarity with the Island, received from governments, parliaments, political, religious and social organizations and political figures from Latin America and the Caribbean.