Santa Marta,Colombia – A significantly reduced โขnumber of heads of โขstate andโ government-just nine-are attending the CELAC-EU Summit in Colombia,officials confirmed Saturday,as negotiators work to finalize a keyโ declaration potentially as early as today.
The diminished attendance casts a shadow over โthe summit, intended to revitalize ties between the European Union and the community of Latin American and Caribbean States. While the meeting was originally scheduled for โSunday and Monday, sources indicate efforts are underway toโฃ conclude the most critical decisions with the “Santa Marta Declaration” today, potentially shortening the summit to โฃa single day. The EU delegation will remain in Santa Marta through Monday for โคplanned meetings โฃwith member countries of the caribbean Community (Caricom).
Among those present willโ be the Presidents of Brazil, Luizโฃ Inรกcio Lula da Silva, and Colombia, Gustavo Petro, โขas well as the Prime โขMinisters of Spain, Pedro Sรกnchez, and Portugal, Antรณnioโ Costa. โขAlso attending are the Prime Ministers ofโ Guyana,Mark Phillips,and Saint Kitts and Nevis,Terrance Drew.
The โฃsummit is set to โopen Sunday at noon with a plenary โsession, followed byโค leader addresses,โ aโ formal photograph, and a working lunch.The focus will be on strengthening bi-regional cooperation and โฃaddressing shared challenges, though the limited participation raises questions about the level of commitment from across both โขblocs.
