Havana, September 11 (RHC) –- Panamanian Vice President and Foreign Minister Isabel Saint Malo de Alvarado confirmed this week Panama's  invitation to the presidents of the United States and Cuba, Barack Obama and Raúl Castro, to attend the Ibero-American Summit scheduled for April 2015 in Panama.

During a TV interview, Saint Malo said that the invitation to Cuba to participate in the Ibero-American Summit is not a unilateral decision by Panama but a response to the desire of the entire region.

She added that the United States must acknowledge the regional desire to include Cuba and allow the Summit to be a space for dialogue.
Saint Malo stressed that Panama hopes that 34 heads of state from the region will attend the Ibero-American Summit.

She said that the invitation is consistent with the role that Panama wants to play in promoting dialogue, convergence, consensus among all countries on a regional and global scale.

The leaders must look beyond any differences and seek an accord to improve the lives of their peoples, and that’s the position presented by Panama.