PM Gonsalves attends 19th Summit of ALBA-TCP in Venezuela

The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines - Ralph Gonsalves, attended the XIX Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America - Peoples' Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) in Venezuela on Thursday.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines – Ralph Gonsalves, attended the XIX Summit of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) in Venezuela on Thursday.

Various other Heads of the other Caribbean states also attended the meeting, which was received by the Venezuelan authorities, managed by Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza, at the Simón Bolívar International Airport in the state of La Guaira. 

The motto of the summit “Alliance for Life and Independence”. The meeting held a discussion on the regional political situation and the progress of its revitalization process during the year 2021, facing the challenges of the post-pandemic stage.

The meeting was held during the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo in Venezuela. 

The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines – Ralph Gonsalves, during his address, warned everyone and stated, “There is a lot of noise when we talk about digital colonialism, they want to keep us atomized, to change our societies into social laboratories.”

He further added that “ALBA-TCP as a body, it is more than the sum of its parts, it is up to us to support each other and not to be taken out of the way.”

The prime minister then reminded everyone that it is their duty to defend the Cuban Revolution and the Bolivarian Revolution. 

Following are the declarations made from the 19th Summit of ALBA-TCP-

  1. To vindicate the ideology of Latin American and Caribbean independence heroes, Bolívar, Martí, San Martín, Sucre, O’Higgins, Petión, Morazán, Sandino, Maurice Bishop, Garvey, Túpac Katari, Bartolina Sisa, Chatoyer, among others, as a representation of the historical and cultural unity. 
  2. To recognize the historical importance of the Battle of Carabobo, a milestone that sealed the independence of Venezuela under the leadership of Liberator Simón Bolívar. 
  3. To reaffirm the Latin American and Caribbean integration.
  4. To strengthen the community of Latin American and the Caribbean States – CELAC as a genuine device for political agreement.
  5. The heads of the states welcomed the reestablishment of constitutional order in the Plurinational State of Bolivia.
  6. The meeting underlined the efforts and initiatives of President Luis Arce Catacora (domestically and internationally), to move forward towards economic reactivation, including debt financing and relief actions and the effective control of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  7. The meeting welcomed the establishment of the new National Assembly of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
  8. The heads of the states supported the Sandinista government, President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and the people of Nicaragua in their decision to proceed defending sovereignty, peace and the essential social, economic, security and national unity advances achieved. 
  9. The members denounced the attacks and repeated destabilizing attempts against the legitimate government of the sister Republic of Nicaragua by the United States of America. 
  10. The decision of upcoming electoral process in the Republic of Nicaragua was also welcomed by the members.
  11. The members also greeted the relationship between ALBA-TCP and the UN system, CELAC, CARICOM, ACS, SICA, African Union, Arab League, SELA, ECLAC, Eurasian Economic Community, ECOWAS, under the principles of respect and non-intervention in domestic affairs, in order to guarantee greater equality and commitment to social and economic policies. 
  12. The members stated that they review the so-called graduation standards that classify most Latin American and Caribbean States as “middle-income countries”, and which limit their access to credit and international cooperation.
  13. The members also depreciate the campaign supported by the government of the United States against Cuban medical cooperation, and called it immoral. 
  14. The heads of the states also expressed their concern over the climate change and stated it as one of the threats of mankind.
  15. The heads of the states also appreciated the efforts of the alliance during the aftereffect of the events in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines caused by the eruption of La Soufrière volcano, as a representation of support and solidarity of the ALBA-TCP countries.
  16. The member states showed their commitment to the promotion and protection of the human rights for the whole world, particularly the right to life and health.

Despite this, the representatives of the member states recognized the leadership of the World Health Organization – WHO to raise awareness and for its assistance during the tough times of the COVID-19 pandemic and also reaffirmed the urgent need of universal vaccination against the deadly mutant.Â