Havana, January 21 (RHC)-- Cuba is calling on fellow member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to back a proposal to declare the region a nuclear-free zone, a top official said Monday.

In the lead-up to the bloc's second summit to be held in Havana on January 28th and 29th, Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Abelardo Moreno said the proposal requires the backing of CELAC heads of state and government.

In a statement aired on national television, Moreno said 33 CELAC member states are all signatories of the Tlatelolco Treaty, a document that prohibits the existence of nuclear arms in Latin America, but measures are needed to secure peace regionally.

The summit, to be held at Havana PABEXPO exhibition complex, will focus on seeking strategies to address issues affecting the region, such as hunger, poverty and inequality.

CELAC was founded in December 2011 in Venezuela to promote regional integration. Its first summit was held in Santiago, Chile, in January 2013, at which Cuba took over the bloc's presidency for the year of 2013.