On 26 and 27 October 2022, the Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, took part in the meeting of the ministers of foreign affairs from the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
At the meeting, Edgars Rinkēvičs, underlined the importance of the rules-based international order and welcomed the firm response by CELAC countries to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. “Relations between our regions are based on our common appreciation of the irreplaceable role of the rules-based international order and multilateral cooperation in the advancement of global peace, security, human rights and sustainable development. Latvia welcomes the strong stance that CELAC countries took towards upholding the principles of the UN Charter and supporting the rights of Ukraine – a sovereign country under attack – to defend itself,” the Foreign Minister noted.
Edgars Rinkēvičs also pointed out the need for more active cooperation in multilateral formats so as to jointly address the negative consequences of the global pandemic and mitigate climate change. “The time when the world is recovering from a major pandemic and doing its best to cope with the increasingly devastating effects of climate change calls for effective multilateral cooperation. Therefore, the EU-CELAC relations must be reinforced, and efforts made to foster more unified positions in multilateral formats,” the Foreign Minister noted.
Background information
The EU-CELAC strategic partnership was launched at the first meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1999. To enhance cooperation between the two regions, a decision was made at the EU-CELAC Summit in 2015 to organise meetings at the level of foreign ministers. Senior officials from the EU and CELAC states meet on a regular basis to deal with practical matters.