Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday said that the Cuban leader Fidel Castro is the great helmsman of the regional economic integration body, the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).

Chavez made the remarks at a press conference after the end of a summit of the ALBA nations -- Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua, which was held in Barquisimeto, a city some 350 km west of Caracas.

Chavez said he was pleased to be one of the few trusted people to have first hand information of Castro's health, and that Castro was clearly recovering.

The 80-year-old leader has not been seen in public since undergoing an intestinal operation last July. He temporarily handed power to Defense Minister Raul Castro.

ALBA was formed in 2004 by Chavez and Fidel Castro to promote trade and cooperation and to oppose a U.S.-backed free trade area.

The fifth ALBA summit began on Saturday and ended on Sunday, attracting presidents from Bolivia, Nicaragua and Haiti, and the Cuban vice president, as well as observers from Ecuador, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic.

The summit ended with a statement from the ALBA nations, which are going to reject the International Monetary Fund's economic model, and agree to work together in securing energy and boost geopolitical unity.

Source: Xinhua