The member states of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of the Americas-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP) agreed on the path for the creation of the Development Cooperation Agency, it was announced today in Caracas.

The information was released last night, on his social network account X, by the executive secretary of the regional integration bloc, Jorge Arreaza.

The head of state pointed out that delegates from the 10 ALBA-TCP countries participated in the virtual and face-to-face meeting held in Caracas, with the aim of creating this Cooperation Agency in compliance with the mandate of the XXIII Summit of Heads of State and Government, which took place last April.

Arreaza said at the inauguration of the meeting that the creation of this instrument will be «essential for the liberation of our peoples», by promoting integration and humanitarian aid in a real and direct way.

To this end, he said, they will use the capacities that «we already have, such as the ALBA Bank», and ruled out the Agency generating any hint of bureaucracy.

He quoted Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as saying that the Alliance has «the most humane achievements that can exist in any union mechanism».

In this regard, he mentioned the number of people who have undergone eye surgery through Operation Miracle, the number of doctors trained, the number of people who have become literate and the number of people assisted during disasters.

All this has been done over almost 20 years and «it is time for this cooperation to take an organic and institutional form», he stressed.

The ALBA-TCP Executive Secretariat and the ALBA Bank will be responsible for the operation of the Cooperation Agency, which among its functions will receive projects and contributions from the countries of the bloc, he said.

He stressed the importance of raising resources for cooperation, from its own members and other international organisations, especially in the face of the consequences of climate change, in order to deal with natural emergencies and contingencies.

The president of the ALBA Bank, Raúl Li Causi, said that the Development Cooperation Agency of the Alliance is the tool that the leaders of the bloc put at the service of the people, with a focus on development and the implementation of the ALBA-TCP 2030 Strategic Agenda.

This includes the planning and optimisation of funds, support to the Executive Secretariat in fundraising, coordination of humanitarian interventions and technical assistance for the formulation of projects, said the also Deputy Foreign Minister for the Caribbean.

He said the entity he heads is willing to finance projects focused on renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, natural resource management, infrastructure, health, technology, digital communication, tourism and others.