Havana - This Saturday will open the Fifth Meeting Caricom-Cuba to strengthen and expand bilateral links that allow member countries, united in dioversity, to face the great challenges imposed by the regional and international reality.

The eve, the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) in its 22nd Ordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers of that entity held in this capital, Cuba handed the temporary presidency of the ACS to Venezuela, who will occupy that chair until 2018.

With the presence of President Raul Castro and the Foreign Minister, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Rogelio Sierra, made a summary of the intensive work developed by Cuba, aimed at revitalizing the work of the Association.

He detailed that under the Cuban presidency it achieved to promote and execute programs aimed to face the common challenges of the nations of the area, as the effects of climate change and natural disasters.

At the First ACS Meeting on Cooperation, attended 193 representatives of member, associated, observer countries and regional and international organizations as well as financial world institutions, said Sierra.

Development projects approved on this occasion as well as those being promoted or incentivated, aim at facing and solving crucial problems, especially for the small insular nations.

The meeting approved that Venezuela is accompanied until 2018 in the vicepresidency by Guatemala, Cuba and St. Lucia as Secretary.

In the Cuba-Caricom agenda today will also emerge the issue of greater economic risks due to the increasing protectionism in trade and migratory excluding and repressive policies.

All that, warned Cuban Foreign Ministerk, could entail serious affectations to the development models of Caribbean economies for their impact on the creation of jobs, income, industry and trade.