A dozen leaders confirmed their presence in Tegucigalpa to attend the summit of the region’s most important integration organization, to be held on Wednesday, April 9, at the Central Bank of Honduras.
Prior to the high-level meeting, the capital of the Central American nation will host the meetings of national coordinators and foreign ministers of the 33 member countries of the coordination mechanism, scheduled for Monday, April 7, and Tuesday, April 8, respectively.
At a press conference at the Presidential Palace, Honduran Security Minister Gustavo Sánchez explained that approximately 5,000 National Police officers and 2,000 Armed Forces personnel will ensure order, mobility, and citizen protection during the summit.
For Tuesday and Wednesday, President Xiomara Castro’s administration established teleworking for public employees and virtual classes for the education system in the Central District (Tegucigalpa and Comayagüela), an area with high traffic congestion year-round.
Sánchez asked the population for understanding and urged them to respect the instructions issued by the authorities, ahead of an event that, he emphasized, will mark a historic moment for Honduras, which has become a center of Latin American and Caribbean diplomacy.
“This summit is an opportunity for Honduras to showcase its organizational capacity, its hospitality, and its regional leadership to the world,” the minister emphasized.
Gerardo Torres, Vice Foreign Minister for Foreign Policy and Summit Coordinator, agreed that the meeting represents a historic milestone for his country, which is hosting a meeting of this magnitude for the first time.
Ten presidents are coming to Tegucigalpa; this will be the CELAC summit with the largest number of heads of state, Torres emphasized in the same appearance, after predicting new confirmations in the coming hours.
The Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs praised President Castro’s leadership as the pro tempore president of the Community.
During her little over a year in that temporary position, Honduras organized 12 ministerial meetings and six extra-regional gatherings.
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