Maduro calls for consolidating Caribbean unity

Caribbean unity promotes economic stability and bolsters regional nations against foreign intervention, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Monday.

He arrived in Kingstown, capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, on Sunday for a state visit to strengthen bilateral cooperation in energy, education, health and infrastructure.

The president called for further consolidation of the Caribbean nations through regional integration blocs such as the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).

According to the Venezuelan News Agency (AVN), Maduro said he has embarked on "visits to Caribbean nations to jointly look out for each other with mutual support and continue to visualize the path for joint economic, social, financial and infrastructure development."

Maduro visited six Caribbean nations last month, including Jamaica, Grenada and St. Lucia, to strengthen cooperation in various sectors.

"We must become a single nation -- the Caribbean nation," Maduro said during a visit in St. Vincent to the Argyle International Airport (AVN), which Venezuelan-led oil alliance Petrocaribe helped build. It will be inaugurated soon.

Regional investments promoted by the ALBA and Petrocaribe "have stabilized the Caribbean economy," said Maduro, hailing the new "political configuration" in Latin America that has led to "great progress" in the area.

Greater integration and unity, spurred by these regional blocs, also help protect small island nations from imperialist aspirations, said Maduro.

"We need to build a shield to prevent imperialist powers from disrupting our region and our cooperation," said Maduro. Endi