CELAC Summit in St Vincent brings together Caribbean leaders to the nation

The VIII Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which is to be held in St Vincent and the Grenadines, has brought many of the region’s leaders and diplomats to the Caribbean nation’s shores.

The Sandals Resort in Buccament Bay, which has not been opened to the public yet, has been chosen as the venue for the landmark event, which will be chaired by the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines and the President of CELAC, Ralph Gonsalves. The summit looks to facilitate significant regional dialogue on many of the pressing matters that nations in the region are currently facing and will see the likes of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, President Xiomara Castro from Honduras, Prime Minister Mia Mottley from Barbados and 34 other Heads of State, taking part in the event.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres is also expected to take part in the summit, as all the important leaders in the region come together to find diplomatic solutions to some of the issues that are plaguing them.

Such summits and events have been coming the way of the Caribbean and Latin American region hard and fast recently, which is seen as an important step in facilitating a feeling of collective agency. It is also an important part of the efforts being made by significant players in the region to maintain a sense of community in the region.

As many of the member nations of CELAC look to focus on stability in the region, in terms of politics and economics, so as to be able to focus on sustainability and resilience, which are seen as a pressing need for now, it is important to bring nations to the table and set collective goals which can be achieved in a collaborative manner.

This also allows nations to focus more on the collective good and find common ground, thus avoiding squabbles which can be unproductive for those involved directly in them, while also having a detrimental effect on the geopolitical situation in the region in general.