Quito, January 27 (RHC)-- Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa delivered on Wednesday the opening remarks of the 4th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). He issued a call for hope and unity among regional countries.

Correa welcomed the participating regional heads of state and/or government or their representatives from the 33 member states of CELAC at the Quito headquarters of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), venue of the regional summit.

In his opening speech, the Ecuadorian president referred to the top five fields of work agreed upon by regional leaders during the previous CELAC summit, held in Havana, and recalled that on that occasion the bloc proclaimed Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace.

Correa pointed to unity as the best and only path towards regional development and stressed that peace is much more than just the absence of war. It entails also justice, dignity and equal opportunities for all.

According to the summit's program, the regional leaders participated in a closed-door session, followed by 6-minute statements by each and every head of delegation. They later debated and approved CELAC's Plan of Action for 2016.

At the end of the summit, President Correa will pass the bloc's rotating presidency to his counterpart from the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, after which the two leaders are scheduled to give a joint press conference.