Above: Grenada

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenada has announced its intention to join the ALBA regional grouping.

The announcement was made by Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell, who said the country has formally put in its application for membership.

Grenada would join Antigua, Dominica, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines as CARICOM members of ALBA, whose official name is the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.

“My feeling is the more cooperation we can get among the countries in the region, in particular in the context of the available of resources we can use to facilitate our development, to me is better,” Mitchell said in a release on Wednesday. “My own view is that we have nothing lose in joining ALBA.”

The Prime Minister made the announcement during his visit to Havana this week for the CELAC conference.

“While we are members of many organizations, regional and international, we reserve the right as a country to take our own individual positions on issues,” he said. “Being a member of ALBA does not prevent us taking any initiative as seen fit.”

ALBA was an initiative of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.