(VOVworld) – The 14th Summit of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of America (ALBA) has opened in the capital city of Caracas, Venezuela. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Cuban President Raul Castro, and other South American and Caribbean leaders are attending the meeting.

The 14th Summit of ALBA in Venezuela (Photo: EPA/TTXVN)

Participants will propose targets and measures to promote regional unity and integration and expand economic projects, trade, and cooperation.  ALBA was founded by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004 through an agreement signed by Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. ALBA’s  eleven member countries are Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Grenada, Nicaragua, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Venezuela. Haiti, Syria and Iran are observers of this organization.