Dominican Republic - Cuba's Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla arrived in the Dominican Republic yesterday, January 23, to participate in the 5th Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit meeting of Foreign Ministers, which begins today.

This meeting follows that of national coordinators who worked on preparing documents to be approved by heads of state.

Prensa Latina reported that among the issues addressed in these texts are the need to end the U.S. blockade of Cuba, as well as topics related to food security, migration, development, and drug trafficking.

Important among others are nuclear disarmament; gender issues and progress for women; financing for development; the return of Cuban territory occupied by the U.S. Naval Base in Guantánamo; and the protection of indigenous languages.

The 5th CELAC Summit of heads of state and government will be officially inaugurated tonight by Dominican President Danilo Medina, the country's Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas stated, according to Cubaminrex.

He reported that the heads of state will adopt the Political Declaration of Punta Cana, and the Action Plan which will outline the organization's activity in 2017, as well as 19 special declarations, in addition to the transfer of the presidency pro tempore from the Dominican Republic to El Salvador.