– lobbies Caribbean, Latin American integration
The coalition of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will be appraised when the various heads of government of the two regions meet in Caracas, Venezuela, on July 5 for a Community of Latin America and the Caribbean (CELAC) meeting. Newly accredited Nicaraguan Ambassador to Guyana Ramon Enrique Leets Castillo broke the news to members of the media after presenting his letters of Credence to President Bharrat  Jagdeo Thursday at the Office of the President.
CELAC is the proposed name created in February 2010 of a regional bloc of Latin American and Caribbean nations. The occasion was the Rio Group-Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Unity Summit in Mexico.
CELAC consists of all sovereign countries in the Americas, except Canada and the United States, and will be the fulfillment of lobbying efforts for deeper integration within the Americas.
Ambassador Castillo said the relationship between Guyana and Nicaragua has been cordial since his first visit 30 years ago, and that it was the intention of his country’s President Daniel Orgeta to strengthen the relations through diplomatic representation.
“We believe that in unity there is strength. If we are united, then we can overcome any obstacle that may present itself before us,” Ambassador Castillo said, promising that efforts will also be made to seek closer economic relations with Guyana and other Caribbean countries.
President Jagdeo has also been touting integration of the Caribbean and Latin America and has supported former Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula Da Silva’s call for a free trade agreement between the four-member bloc, Mercosur, and CARICOM.
While participating in a plenary session of the Mercosur Summit held last December in Foz do Iguacu, Brazil, President Jagdeo expressed the hope that incumbent Brazilian President, Dilma Rousseff, will continue President Lula’s legacy of pushing a trade agreement between the Caribbean and Mercosur.
Asked about the similarities between Nicaragua and Guyana, Ambassador Castillo said there are geographic and social similarities, as Nicaragua has both Pacific and Caribbean coasts.
“On the Caribbean side, believe me it is as if you are in Guyana. There are a lot of similarities in the way in which people conduct themselves, in terms of the fishing, culture, even in terms of the language, because on the Caribbean coast in Nicaragua they speak English and other dialects,” Ambassador Castillo said.
On July 19 Nicaragua will be observing the 31st anniversary of the revolution and invitations to the celebrations will be extended to countries of the Caribbean region, including Guyana. (GINA)