LatAm, Caribbean Summit holds first session

MEXICO: The evening session of Latin American and Caribbean Unity Summit has been held amid the discretion which has characterized it from its preparation.

The meeting was inaugurated with a welcome speech by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who said that the idea of Latin American unity is consistent with its own process of independence, started 200 years ago.

Calderon also recalled that when regional countries have remained united, they have been able to overcome adversities, while in frequent confrontations these countries have lagged behind other parts of the world. At least 32 of the 33-member Rio Group are represented in this close door summit (Honduras was not invited), with several Presidents or Prime Ministers. Presidents of Peru, Bahamas, Guayana, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago have skipped the meeting, but are represented by members of their Cabinets.

A Mexican Foreign Ministry official told Prensa Latina that the presidents of some Caribbean nations were unable to attend because their national holidays are being marked these days.

Playa del Carmen, Prensa Latina