Quito, May 5 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Foreign ministers from the ALBA bloc member countries are meeting in Quito to define a common position on the 2020 development agenda for the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

The plan was proposed by Ecuador, which assumed leadership over the regional bloc earlier this year. CELAC foreign ministers conference are meeting on Tuesday to determine the objectives outlined in the CELAC agenda 2020 document.

The 2020 CELAC Development Plan outlines five key development goals, including reducing extreme poverty and inequality; providing greater support to educational, science and technological initiatives; increasing efforts to protect the environment and combat climate change; and greater investment to infrastructure development. Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño issued a statement on Sunday welcoming the CELAC foreign ministers prior to their arrival.

CELAC has been functioning since 2011, and, like ALBA and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), is aimed at strengthening regional integration. The bloc represents nearly 600 million people from Latin America and the Caribbean.

The 2020 development plan was initially proposed at the presidential CELAC summit held in January in San Jose, Costa Rica in an effort to improve the quality of life of the 33 states that make up that body.