Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray today reaffirmed Mexico's commitment to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) – China forum, one of the most important opportunities for cooperation with CELAC partners outside of Latin America and an ideal forum within which to promote dialogue and cooperation.
At the forum's second ministerial meeting, held in Santiago, Chile, the Foreign Secretary highlighted the dynamism of the dialogue on international issues of common interest such as Mexico's commitment to combating climate change, the progress made in reaching the goals of the 2030 Agenda, and their agreement on multilateralism.
Foreign Secretary Videgaray highlighted China's importance for Latin America and the Caribbean: "Without a doubt, this ministerial meeting is very important and is something that should make us all happy. It is cause for hope and optimism, because our region is taking tangible, concrete steps to create closer ties with China, a big and important nation that we admire and that has decided to work more closely with Latin America and the Caribbean."
The Foreign Secretary thanked Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for his leadership and asked him, on behalf of the Mexican government and President Enrique Peña Nieto, to convey the President's appreciation to Chinese President Xi Jinping for supporting the region's growth.
During the meeting, the ministers and representatives of the 34 participating countries reviewed the forum's progress since the 2015 ministerial meeting and analyzed various plans to strengthen cooperation between the parties in order to further promote social welfare, innovation, economic growth and sustainable development in Latin America, the Caribbean and China.
The Santiago Declaration was adopted at the meeting, in which it is agreed to continue efforts to expand and deepen mutual cooperation. It includes the 2019-2021 Joint Action Plan for CELAC-China Cooperation that gives continuity to the previous plan (2015-2019) and provides for greater cooperation in various areas, including: politics and security, trade and investment, infrastructure, agriculture, industry, science and technology, culture, environment and climate change, tourism and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The 34 nations that make up the CELAC-China Forum represent 18% of the UN member countries, 20% of the planet's territory, 27% of the world population and 21% of the global GDP.
Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray also held meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Bolivia, Chile, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Peru and Venezuela.
The Foreign Secretary met with Bolivian Foreign Minister Fernando Huanacuni to follow up on his visit to Mexico last December. They discussed the role played by both nations as accompanying countries to the talks between the Venezuelan government and opposition taking place in the Dominican Republic.
With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Secretary Videgaray highlighted the excellent bilateral strategic relationship and thanked him for sending tents to those affected by the earthquakes last September.
Dr. Videgaray and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez reviewed the bilateral agenda, topics of regional interest and the current situation of the CELAC-China Forum.
The Foreign Secretary and Peruvian Foreign Minister Cayetana Aljovín pledged to work together to strengthen the bilateral relationship to benefit the peoples of both countries.
In addition, Foreign Secretary Videgaray met with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza to analyze the CELAC-China Forum agenda and to assess the state of the talks between the Venezuelan government and opposition hosted by the Dominican Republic.
The Foreign Secretary held a trilateral meeting on this issue with the Foreign Ministers of Chile, Heraldo Muñoz; and the Dominican Republic, Miguel Vargas; they agreed on the need for Venezuela to reach an agreement as soon as possible.
