PORT OF SPAIN: 20TH SEPTEMBER, 2021
Senator the Honourable Dr. Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 6th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean (CELAC) Heads of State and Government held in Mexico City, Mexico on September 18, 2021. The 6th CELAC Summit was convened in Mexico as that country currently holds the Pro Tempore Presidency of CELAC. CELAC representatives gathered to exchange views on CELAC and current global issue, and identify priorities for the group, which comprises thirty-three countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region. In the Political Declaration of Mexico City issued at the conclusion of the Summit, CELAC member states “committed to continue working to address the health, social, economic and environmental crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic” and expressed solidarity on a number of global issues including fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, the need for affordable financing to facilitate economic recovery, the need for universal multidimensional index to measure vulnerability to determine access to concessional financing, strengthening the capacity for vaccine production in the CELAC region, combatting climate change, strengthen the coordination on disaster risk reduction and management, the rejection of all acts of terrorism and the importance of ICTS to foster development among other things.
The Heads of State and Government of CELAC also received messages from extra-regional partners of the European Council, ECLAC, the United Nations Secretary General and the President of the People’s Republic of China. Several countries signed the Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency Constitutive (ALCE) Agreement that will coordinate space-related activities of member countries and promote improvement in satellite communications systems, which can assist with mapping the region’s strength, vulnerabilities and threats. The ALCE Agreement is open for signature by the remaining CELAC member states when each state is ready to do so.
Minister Browne and other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Heads of Delegation also met with His Excellency Rodolfo Solano Quiros, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, in the margin of the 6th CELAC Summit. The discussions focussed on increasing collaboration in the multilateral fora, including ELCAC for which Costa Rica currently holds the Chairmanship.
