SANTIAGO, Chile – Government representatives from 26 countries have called for a renewed agreement for international development cooperation with the aim of addressing the vulnerabilities of Latin America and the Caribbean linked to development challenges.
The delegates, who attended the First Session of the Regional Conferenced on South-South Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, said that the agreement should ensure that no one is left behind and all people and countries must participate in order to attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030.
The delegates, in excess of 300 including experts from the UN System and regional and international organizations as well as representatives of civil society, the private sector and academia, also agreed on the need to strengthen synergies and partnerships with other stakeholders such as development banks, the private sector and regional and subregional integration mechanisms on matters related to international development cooperation.
Furthermore, the new intergovernmental body, which is a subsidiary body of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is to contribute to supporting member states on South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives.
President of the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance,
Sabina Frederic, said the conference, which ended earlier this week, has been a milestone that marks the start of a sphere of agreements on development cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean.
“The presence and commitment of all the participating countries and governments shows the degree of involvement with cooperation issues in the region,” she stressed.
ECLAC’s executive secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, said the new geoeconomic and geopolitical context calls on countries to analyze and understand trends and to redefine political, integration and economic growth partnerships.
“In this regard, the EU-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) relationship has unique and very valuable traits. The countries of the EU and LAC share many views about the type of development model to be aspired to; a sustainable, inclusive and productive model, with Welfare States characterized by universal social policies.”
Salazar-Xirinachs said it is essential that Latin America and the Caribbean take advantage of opportunities for growth, job creation and sustainability, not just as a strategy to invigorate its growth, but also as areas of opportunity for investment and cooperation with partners like the EU.
Salazar-Xirinachs specified that ECLAC has identified a list of at least 13 areas of opportunity for investment and cooperation, especially with a partner such as the EU.
The meeting also agreed to promote, in the context of international development cooperation, a comprehensive approach to risk and disaster management, with a gender perspective, based on the principles of preparedness, prevention, identification, mitigation and response, to reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen resilience and enhance the capacity of humanitarian cooperation to respond to disasters and emergencies.
