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Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, attended the Second Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, held in Santiago, Chile on 22nd January 2018, under the theme “CELAC-China: Working for more development, innovation and cooperation for our peoples”. The Meeting was designed to fine-tune the cooperation agenda for the period 2019 to 2021 between the People’s Republic of China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Minister Johnson Smith was among the representatives of the twenty-two CELAC Member States which delivered statements in support of the China-CELAC cooperation mechanism.
The Minister’s statement focused on furthering discussions on grant funding for regional projects and financing for climate change, made available through the China-CELAC cooperation mechanism.
In acknowledging climate change as a phenomenon which affects all of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as China, Minister Johnson Smith urged both sides to make disaster mitigation and building resilience to the risks of climate change vital elements of the China-CELAC cooperation strategy.
The Minister also expressed support for China’s vision of the Belt and Road Initiative which, it is anticipated, “will connect markets across Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas and lead to development right across the region through a cooperative and inclusive strategy”.
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