Havana, January 21 (RHC)-- Cuba's First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel will lead the island's delegation to the next Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on January 27th in Quito.

At a news conference in Havana, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Abelardo Moreno said that CELAC is an essential coordination and integration mechanism in the region. Moreno said that the aim of the member countries is to turn CELAC, created in 2011 in Caracas, into "the legitimate interlocutor of Latin America and the Caribbean and other international organizations."

The deputy foreign minister told reporters that during the upcoming summit in Quito, the countries of the region will issue at least 24 special statements that define "the common positions in the region" on major issues, three of which are "of particular interest" for Cuba.

He pointed out that among the statements will be a demand for the end of the U.S. economic blockade of Cuba, the return to the island of the occupied Guantanamo Naval Base and the need to promote "fair, orderly and safe" migration within the region.