MAE: Min Aurescu in Latin America and Caribbean Informal EU Ministerial Meeting

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, participated on Monday in the informal EU Ministerial Meeting with Latin American states and Caribbean (LAC), organized by the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in videoconference system, on which occasion he addressed the topic of the immediate response to the COVID-19 pandemic, referring to the universal value of solidarity in crisis situations and effective multilateralism.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in his speech, Bogdan Aurescu stressed that Romania has joined "The Coronavirus Global Response" initiative and redirected more than half of its budget for international development cooperation to combat the pandemic.

Minister Bogdan Aurescu also stressed that Romania has adapted the Annual Plan for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance so that it can make voluntary contributions to improving the socio-economic effects felt by the states in the region, as well as for the countries affected by the Latin American crisis and, especially, from the Caribbean.

Romania-funded development projects dedicated to small island developing states in the Caribbean region will also address issues related to risk reduction, combating the effects of climate change, including rising sea and ocean levels, reconstruction programs after natural disasters and educating young people.

Highlighting the need to increase strategic resilience, both nationally and globally, Minister Bogdan Aurescu reiterated the potential of EU cooperation with the Latin American and Caribbean region, including for strengthening effective multilateralism and cooperation between partner states with common objectives and values.

The informal EU27-Latin America and Caribbean Ministerial Meeting was co-chaired by German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and was attended by more than 40 foreign ministers.

The main objective of the meeting was to revive the inter-regional relationship, to revitalize the common agenda and to achieve a better convergence of positions on global issues. The debates focused on three topical issues: combating the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for economic recovery, with a focus on the concepts of Green Growth, the digital transition and the inclusive economy (BuildBackBetter, the Team Europe initiative).

The event was an important signal of the EU's commitment to the region, especially in the difficult context of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the EU has sent a strong signal to LAC countries about their desire to remain a strong partner in multilateralism, the rules-based international system and free trade.

The event was organized following the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on October 12, at which High Representative Josep Borrell, stressing the LAC's character as a "like-minded" region for Europe, called for a relaunch of the EU-LAC partnership through much more active involvement of EU member states in their relations with Latin American states both at the political level, by establishing as many contacts as possible at the high level, economically, but also in terms of sectoral cooperation.

The bi-regional partnership between the EU and Latin America and the Caribbean was launched in 1999 in Rio de Janeiro. Until 2015, EU-LAC Summits took place every two years, alternately in the two regions. In the meantime, ministerial meetings were held in the same format.