Mexico will host this Saturday the XXI meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), preparatory to the VI Summit of Heads of State and Government to be held next September.
The first face-to-face meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic will coincide with the 238th anniversary of the birth of Liberator Simón Bolívar, to whom Mexico will honor in a wide program of activities, the first part of which it is expected to be attended by the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador along with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and other invited authorities of the region.
After the tribute to the Liberator in the Castle of Chapultepec, the representatives will begin the meeting at the Castle’s own headquarters, which will be opened by the host Marcelo Ebrard as representative of the pro tempore presidency of the Celac that Mexico holds.
In accordance with the proposed work agenda, the Comprehensive Health Self-Sufficiency Plan, presented by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Food Safety Cooperation Agreement, by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will be discussed at the meeting.
Next, the ministers, Vice-ministers and special guests will review the documents that will be approved by the region’s leaders at the upcoming September summit in Mexico City.
As a prelude to this meeting of Foreign Ministers of the regional body, the national coordinators of Celac held a telematic meeting last Tuesday, July 20, within the framework of solidarity, complementary, equitable cooperation and in accordance with the principles of the community platform.
Coordinadores nacionales de la celac se reúnen en vísperas del encuentro de Cancilleres en México
Origin of the Celac
The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States is a political-regional body, promoted in Caracas in 2010 and reaffirmed in 2011 in the framework of the III Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development (CALC) and the XXII Rio Group Summit.
It is recognized as an intergovernmental mechanism for dialogue and political agreement. Its membership includes exclusively the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and arose under the premise of progressively advancing in regional integration. Mexico held the pro tempore presidency during 2020 and it was extended until 2021.
This mechanism also groups 17% of the members of the UN; it has a population of approximately 624 million people (8.6% of the world population); it occupies 15% of the planet’s territory and generates 7.1% of the world’s gross domestic product.