The first Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (SLAC) concluded Wednesday in northeastern Brazil, calling for dialogue and interaction to boost integration in the region.
The call was made in the Declaration of Salvador adopted by the two-day gathering at the coastal resort of Sauipe Coast, which drew leaders from 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the first time in history without the presence of the United States or any European country.
The aim of this decision was "to deepen integration and accelerate development through the articulation of joint and complementary projects," said the declaration.
According to the document, leaders of the region at SLAC highlighted the progress in the various integration mechanisms and their importance to the promotion of democracy, social justice, poverty eradication, illiteracy reduction, cultural enrichment, technological development and economic growth.
They renewed their commitment to the consolidation of democratic institutions in their countries, vowing to protect human rights and fundamental freedom.
The leaders also voiced their willingness of broad and active participation in affairs of common interest, saying they would seek a fair and equitable sharing of benefits generated by the region's development.
They also decided to promote their coordination through the exchange of experiences and carry on cooperation on the basis of solidarity, flexibility, diversity, complementarity of actions and voluntary participation.
On the current global financial crisis, they expressed great concerns over it and proposed an extended dialogue to build a "new international financial architecture to guarantee the democracy and transparency of the financial management and the strength of the regulation mechanism."
The document acknowledged that nations of the region faced enormous challenges in overcoming poverty and other social problems and that those challenges had been exacerbated by the current financial crisis.
To this regard, the document reaffirmed the determination of governments in the region to launch a vigorous social agenda which corresponds to the commitments made in the UN Millennium Development Goals.
The declaration said that these leaders would make efforts to build a more just, equitable and harmonious international order based on the respect for international laws and the principles set by the UN Charter.
It also defended the sovereignty and the right of every country to build its own political system which should be free from threats, attacks and unilateral coercive measures.
It emphasized that strengthening multilateralism was essential to ensuring a more stable and peaceful world, so it would be urgent to undertake real reforms of the United Nations to strengthen and ensure efficiency, transparency, representativeness and democratization of its principal organs, particularly the Security Council.
In his closing speech, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva stressed the need to invest in sectors that could generate employment and noted that the current international financial crisis was an "opportunity to rethink the kind of economy we want."
He also called upon reforms on international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Source:Xinhua
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