Havana, Oct 19, (RHC), -- The Prime Minister of St Lucia, Kenny D. Anthony, thanked the Presidents of Venezuela and Cuba for convening a meeting of regional countries in Havana to coordinate a swift and effective response to the impeding threat of the Ebola virus.

Anthony arrived Sunday afternoon in Havana to attend the extraordinary meeting of countries members of the ALBA bloc, or Bolivarian Alliance for the peoples of Our America.

In statements to reporters upon his arrival at José Martí International Airport, the Prime Minister extolled Cuba’s role in the ongoing fight against the Ebola outbreak in Africa, and highlighted the importance of a joint strategy to address this danger.

He warned that many countries in the region specially in the Caribbean lack the expertise and resources to face an Ebola pandemic, highlighting Cuba’s experience in the area of Tropical diseases and its continued readiness to help others in times of need.

Heads of state and government and other representatives from member countries of the ALBA-TCP began arriving in Havana this afternoon to participate in the summit, scheduled to take place October 20th.

According to a communiqué from Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, the Havana meeting aims to devise a joint regional mechanism to face this imminent danger and to prevent the dissemination of the Ebola disease in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Also, representatives from international organizations are to participate in the high level meeting, among them the head of the Pan-American Health Organization, Carissa Etienne, who already arrived in the Cuban capital.