Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales called today for SICA members to fulfill the dream of a more prosperous and united Central America, when opening the 53rd meeting of Heads of State and Government of the region.
Morales, who delivers today the presidency pro tempore to his counterpart from El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, recalled that this was the eighth time that Guatemala assumed such a high commitment but always with the same integrating spirit of three decades ago.
The President welcomed the heads of State of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina; and of Panama, Juan Carlos Varela (who says goodbye to SICA), together with Foreign Ministers Manuel Ventura (Honduras), Alexandra Hill (El Salvador) and Wilfred Elrinton (Belize), as well as high-level representatives convened in this capital.
Morales highlighted Guatemala’s achievements as President, the implementation of the Central American Declaration, a uniform text to document the region’s foreign trade, the formulation of a comprehensive customs risk strategy, and progress in updating the common customs code and their regulations.
He also acknowledged the deep process of customs integration between Guatemala and Honduras, which will soon include El Salvador, he set out.
Regarding social integration, he mentioned agreements for the empowerment of women, a pedagogical proposal for early childhood and support to commemorate the International Year of Indigenous Languages and the decade of Afro-descendant cultures.
Morales assured that the migratory issue raised a constant concern on the eight members of the Central American Integration System (SICA) ahead of the caravans that crossed Guatemala from Honduras and El Salvador.
In this regard, he highlighted the preparation of an action plan for comprehensive attention to the phenomenon and the preparation of a sociological and economic study on its causes and consequences at the regional level. (PL)
