Kingstown, February 29 (RHC)-- Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel arrived Thursday in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to participate in the eighth summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which will begin tomorrow.

Upon his arrival at Argyle International Airport, the head of state was received by Deputy Prime Minister Montgomery Daniel.

The head of state traveled accompanied by the Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez.

According to the Cuban Presidency in X, Díaz-Canel is expected to speak tomorrow at the regional meeting, which will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing, in Havana, of the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace.

The 8th CELAC Summit will focus on pressing issues in the region, such as food security, health, climate change and peacekeeping in search of consensus and possible solutions.

The bloc, made up of 33 countries, is a region-wide intergovernmental mechanism that emerged in December 2011 to promote unity and political, economic, social and cultural integration.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines will bid farewell with the conclave to its mandate at the head of the bloc, thus becoming the first member of the Caribbean Community to assume such responsibility.

Colombia will assume the pro tempore presidency of the mechanism in 2025 and, among the government's aspirations in relation to integration, the green transition, interconnection and regional energy integration stand out.