The Costa Rica News (TCRN) – The third annual Community of Latin American and Caribbean States Summit (CELAC), will be held on Wednesday and Thursday in Costa Rica.
So far only three Latin American leaders were unable to attend: Paraguay’s Horacio Cartes, Enrique Peña Nieto from Mexico, and Argentina’s Cristina Fernández.
This will be the largest presidential gathering hosted in Costa Rica since the Rio Group Summit in 2002 and the Ibero-American Summit of 2004.
This year the Summit’s theme is “Building Together” and the primary focus is the struggle against poverty. Moreover, it will emphasize issues such as transparency, accountability and combating corruption.
The Pedregal Event Center, a venue that was a former football stadium, has been transformed into a multipurpose space for fairs and massive business events.
The Costa Rican Security Minister, Celso Gamboa, said they will allocate 750 policemen to guard the summit, which constitutes one of the largest security deployments in the country, even surpassing the armed forces used for President Barack Obama’s visit in 2013.
Organizers expect the presence of 33 delegations from member countries of CELAC, as well as the United Nations (UN), the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union, the United Nations for Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Secretaría General Iberoamericana (SEGIB).
CELAC, created in late 2011 under the leadership of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (1999-2013), includes all American countries except the United States and Canada. (EFE)
The Costa Rica News (TCRN)
San Jose, Costa Rica