In a context of multiple global crises, Foreign Ministers and high authorities of Latin America and the Caribbean and other member countries of ECLAC today ratified their commitment to multilateralism, regional cooperation and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, and reiterated the urgent need to reform the multilateral system and the international financial architecture so that the region – eminently middle-income – can access adequate financing to move towards more productive, inclusive and sustainable development.
He Dialogue of foreign ministers and high authorities: follow-up of the results of the Future Summit and challenges for the region in view of the Second World Summit on Social Development and the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development It took place on the first day of the Fortieth session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) which takes place until Friday, October 11 in Lima, Peru.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs valued the space for debate provided by ECLAC, as well as its historical contributions to the development of the region, and welcomed the presentation of the position document Latin America and the Caribbean facing development traps: essential transformations and how to manage them by the Executive Secretary of the regional organization of the United Nations, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs.
The Foreign Ministers and high authorities recognized the multiple challenges faced by the countries of the region, including the persistence of poverty, food insecurity and social inequality, the increasingly severe impacts of climate change, the growing political polarization, the high levels of debt and difficulties in accessing financing on favorable conditions. In response, they raised the need to strengthen regional integration, strengthen social protection systems and advance in terms of productive transformation, climate resilience and gender equality, among other areas.
The country representatives also highlighted the recent approval of the Pact for the Future during the Future Summit organized by the United Nations (UN). The ECLAC session is the first opportunity that the countries of the region have to discuss the regional implementation of the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Pact and the Declaration on Future Generations and how the proposals of the Commission.
Likewise, senior officials stressed the importance of bringing the regional voice to the upcoming international summits and conferences, particularly the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the Convention on Biological Diversity, which will take place between October 21 and on November 1 of this year in Colombia; the Second World Summit on Social Development (Qatar, 2025); the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (Spain, 2025); and the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Brazil, 2025).
At the beginning of the dialogue, Elmer Schialer, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, host country of the Fortieth session and president pro tempore of ECLAC during the 2025-2026 biennium, noted that his country considers the recently approved Pact for the Future “as a platform that will allow us – in what is a priority for us – to work together with other nations to face the challenges we share such as the fight against poverty, the protection of the environment and building a fairer world economic order and international financial architecture and equitable benefits to developing countries.
In addition to Schialer, Elmer, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, participated in the session; Paul Chet Greene, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Trade and Barbuda Affairs and Immigration of Antigua and Barbuda; Celinda Sosa Lunda, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Alberto van Klaveren, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile; Eduardo Enrique Reina, Secretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Honduras; Roberto Álvarez, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic; and Frederick Stephenson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Consumer Affairs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
They were joined by Alva Romanus Baptiste, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs of Saint Lucia; Albert Ramdin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of Suriname; Angela Yesenia Olaya Requene, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation of Colombia; and Eva Granados, Secretary of State for International Cooperation of Spain.
Also speaking were Deborah Rivas, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment of Cuba; Nicolás Albertoni, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay; Clemente Baena Soares, Ambassador of Brazil in Peru; Louis Marcotte, Canadian Ambassador to Peru; Carlos Escobedo, Ambassador of Guatemala in Peru; Rubén Darío Antonio Ortiz Méndez, Ambassador of Paraguay in Peru; Karla Tatiana Ornelas, Chargé d’affaires ai of the Mexican Embassy in Peru; Xavier Billingsley, Permanent Representative of the United States to ECLAC, United States Department of State; Sharon Miller, Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica; Benito Wheatley, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of the British Virgin Islands; Alejandro Solano, Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica (video); and Rosario Galarza, representative of the International Disability Alliance.
Authorities from the 46 member states and the 14 associate members of ECLAC, as well as representatives of the United Nations system and non-governmental organizations, participate in this regional event to debate the economic, social and environmental development of the region, examine the activities carried out by the Commission during the previous year and to establish the priorities of the work program that will guide the future work of the Commission.
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