Brazilian president in Cuba for LatAm summit

HAVANA - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff arrived here Sunday to participate in the 2nd Summit of the Latin American and Caribbean Community of States (CELAC) to be held on January 28-29.

On the sidelines of the summit, the president will hold a meeting with her Cuban counterpart Raul Castro on bilateral ties, and attend an inauguration ceremony of Cuba's first 700-meter quay, which was supported by Brazilian funds.

As well as Rousseff, heads of state and government who have already arrived in Havana include Bolivian President Evo Morales, Haitian President Michel Joseph Martelly, and Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is expected to arrive early Monday.

The summit, themed "The Fight Against Poverty, Hunger And Inequality," will see presidency transferring from Cuba to Costa Rica.

The CELAC, a regional bloc of 33 countries with roughly 600 million people, was founded on February 3, 2010, at the Rio Group-Caribbean Community Unity Summit held in Mexico.

The bloc, the result of a decade-long push for deeper integration within the Americas, seeks to deepen political, economic, social and cultural integration in Latin America and the Caribbean.