Senator the Honourable Kamina Johnson Smith greets her counterpart, His Excellency Santiago Cafiero, Minister of Foreign Relations of Argentina during the 7th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) underway in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Summit, convened under the chairmanship of the Republic of Argentina and guided by President Alberto Fernández, will see CELAC Members formulating outcomes on food security, access to financing, including for climate change and recovery from natural disasters, alongside other issues critical to the region’s development agenda.
“Jamaica’s participation in this CELAC meeting will serve to reaffirm the country’s longstanding interest and commitment to South-South cooperation and multilateralism. At the same time, with the additional and special attendees it is an opportunity to enhance and diversify collaboration in trade, investment and tourism,” she said.
Extra-regional countries and institutions with which CELAC collaborates have been invited to address the Summit. These include, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of India, the European Union (EU) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). Interventions will also be given by representatives from the African Union (AU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as CELAC seeks to deepen and expand its bi-regional engagements and partners.
Minister Johnson Smith also noted that the declarations expected to be adopted at the Summit include food security, illegal trafficking in firearms, oceans conservation, women’s empowerment, gender equality among other special considerations.
Accompanying the Foreign Minister to the Summit will be Jamaica’s National Coordinator to CELAC, Ambassador Janice Miller, Under-Secretary, Bilateral and Regional Affairs at the Ministry.
