VENEZUELA HOSTS ALBA EXTRAORDINARY SUMMIT ON WEDNESDAY

HAVANA, Cuba, June 24 (acn) The Venezuelan city of Maracay, in the state of Aragua, hosts on Wednesday an extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a Latin American and Caribbean bloc for integration and cooperation.

During the meeting, Ecuador, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Antigua and Barbuda, will officially become full members of the organization that is already comprised of Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Honduras and Dominica.

According to Prensa Latina news agency, thus far, the presidents of Bolivia, Evo Morales; Ecuador, Rafael Correa; Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega; and Venezuela, Hugo Chavez; have confirmed their presence in the summit.

Also present will be the prime ministers of Dominica, Roosevelt Skerrit; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ralph Gonsalves; and Antigua and Barbuda, Balwin Spencer.
   
Representatives from Paraguay and Grenada will participate as observers.

Delegations from the participating countries are also expected to attend a parade at Carabobo Camp to commemorate another anniversary of the Battle of Carabobo, which sealed Venezuela’s independence from Spain in 1821.