Managua, Cuba.- The 24th Meeting of the Council of Ministers and the 3rd Conference of Cooperation are on the agenda of the 8th Summit of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which is being held in this capital on Thursday.

The two meetings precede the summit of heads of State and Government that will take place on Friday at the Olof Palme Convention Center in Managua.

The main topic to be debated at the meeting, which is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the organization, is the mitigation of climate change. The debates will take into consideration the financing and mobilization of the necessary resources to counter the consequences of a phenomenon that seriously affects the region, above all the small insular States.

In that regard, Nicaragua’s deputy foreign minister for the Caribbean,

Valdrack Jaentschke, highlighted the importance of building more unity and coordination on that issue.

He recalled that the Great Caribbean, which has several islands and low lands, is one of the most vulnerable regions on the planet as a consequence of climate change.

Other topics for debate will be the mobilization of people, sustainable development, a collective tourist policy and the risks of disasters, which are common to all 31 States and 10 associated members of the ACS.

Eugenio Martinez, a top official from the Cuban Foreign Ministry, told Prensa Latina that at the opening session, ACS Secretary General June Soomer, from Saint Lucia, noted the achievements in cooperation, including the considerable increase in funds over the past three years.