The Heads of State and Government and Heads of Delegations of the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America – Peoples’ Trade Treaty (ALBA-TCP) reiterated their commitment to strengthen the integration and unity of our peoples as the founding ideology of Commanders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro.
At the 19th ALBA-TCP Summit, held in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital city, the ALBA-TCP heads of State and Government and heads of Delegations reaffirmed their will to face the attempts of imperialist domination and the growing threats to regional peace and stability; with multilateralism and in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law.
Likewise, they highlighted the need to strengthen the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as a genuine mechanism for political agreement, and they welcomed “the relationship between ALBA-TCP and the UN system, CELAC, CARICOM, ACS, SICA, African Union, Arab League, SELA, ECLAC, Eurasian Economic Community, ECOWAS, under the principles of respect and non-intervention in internal affairs, in order to guarantee greater equity and a greater commitment to social and economic policies.”
Furthermore, they insisted on the need for urgent universal vaccination against COVID-19 as well as to guarantee a prompt, equitable, supportive, non-discriminatory and affordable distribution of vaccines and medical supplies and equipment to protect all.
” We recognize the efforts of the COVAX global collaborative alliance under the auspices of WHO,” read the document, which also highlights “the implementation of the ALBA-TCP Vaccine Bank, agreed at the 18th ALBA-TCP Summit of Heads of State and Government, as well as the Medicines Bank, to contribute to improving access to medical supplies, rapid tests and PCR tests, for the benefit of all the countries of the Alliance.”
Under the theme “Alliance for Life and Independence,” the ALBA-TCP heads of State and Government and heads of Delegations strongly rejected the imposition of unilateral coercive measures which violate international law and the UN Charter.
“We condemn the intensification of such measures by the government of the United States of America against countries of the Alliance whose impacts become more severe and cruel in the context of the pandemic,” reads the Declaration.
The document also highlights the activities carried out to reactivate ALBA -TCP as a fighting mechanism for peace, democracy, stability and the welfare of the peoples of Our America. In this regard, the regional integration bloc committed to “fostering the development of the ALBA-Petrocaribe Complementary Economic Zone as a true model of productive and technological development based on the values of the Alliance and the principles of the Peoples’ Trade Treaty.”