Cuba's foreign minister demanded the pretension of "imposing restrictive and divisive formats that make direct and transparent discussions impossible". | Photo: @plasenciafelixr

Caracas, July 13 (RHC)-- The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) issued a statement on Wednesday urging the III Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) to contribute to the legitimate development aspirations of the region.

The regional integration platform urges that the event, to be held July 17th and 18th in Brussels, capital of Belgium, be a space where the needs and priorities of the Latin American and Caribbean peoples are duly addressed.

"The ALBA-TCP Member States consider it essential for the Summit to foster a transparent, respectful, participatory and plural debate, to identify solutions to collectively face the challenges of both regions, and to contribute to the strengthening of a true bi-regional strategic partnership," the communiqué added.

The countries that are part of the platform hope that the meeting will increase inclusive cooperation, post-pandemic economic recovery, and other issues of common interest, such as financing for development, climate change, food security and renewable energy.

The statement also called for the rejection of the "unilateral coercive measures illegally applied against some countries in the region", while he called to "condemn the unfounded inclusion of Cuba in the list of States that allegedly sponsor international terrorism".

For his part, Cuba's Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez demanded the pretension of "imposing restrictive and divisive formats that make direct and transparent discussions impossible."  "The European Parliament has no moral authority to judge #Cuba and should put an end to its interfering approaches."

The regional organization is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Nicaragua, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela.