RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Xinhua) Mexico, the president pro tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), on Monday, December 14th, called for cooperation between the region and the European Union (EU) to mitigate economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mexico’s Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, speaking on behalf of the region, urged the two sides to collaborate during the virtual Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers from the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean.
“In the context of the post-COVID-19 recovery, and the strong negative impact of the pandemic on societies and economies, the foreign minister called on both regions to work together to promote a wide-ranging response that safeguards social progress and promotes inclusion,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Ebrard reaffirmed his interest in promoting dialogue and cooperation between the two regions, and underscored their shared values, priorities and outlooks in the face of global challenges.
“Given the interest of both regions in resuming the institutional mechanisms of dialogue and engagement, Foreign Minister Ebrard highlighted his optimism about the possibility of holding a summit meeting in 2021,” the ministry added.
In 2020-2021, Mexico holds the rotating presidency of CELAC, a regional mechanism for dialogue and consensus that gathers the 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries.
On December 3rd, in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Ebrard noted that the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will contract an estimated 9 percent this year due to the pandemic, while poverty in the region is expected to increase by almost 38 percent.
“Overcoming the pandemic and what follows, the economic and social recovery effort will require great global coordination, a strengthening of multilateralism,” said Ebrard.
Monday’s meeting was co-chaired by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.