Countries Confirm their Commitment to More Productive, Inclusive and Sustainable Development for Latin America and the Caribbean

Representatives of Latin American and Caribbean countries reaffirmed their commitment today to more productive, inclusive and sustainable development at the inauguration of the Fortieth Session of ECLAC, which is taking place through Friday, October 11 in Lima, Peru.

During the opening segment of its most important biennial meeting, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) invited governments and societies in the region to rethink, reimagine and transform with a forward-looking and long-term vision in order to build the future using strengthened, anticipatory governance.

The event was inaugurated by Dina Boluarte, President of Peru; Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations (by video); and José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Executive Secretary of ECLAC. Also participating was Samuel Ortiz, the Ambassador of Argentina in Peru, in his capacity as representative of the country that served as Chair of ECLAC’s Thirty-ninth Session.

In her remarks, President Dina Boluarte pointed up ECLAC’s work and emphasized the organization’s contribution to strengthening relations between the region’s countries, as well as coordinating positions on development in international forums.

“Today Peru ratifies its commitment to multilateralism, to the United Nations system and to ECLAC. As the Commission’s Chair, a role that Argentina will hand over to us today, Peru commits itself to working resolutely to foster cooperation between our countries and carry out coordination to continue making progress on our development priorities,” the country’s leader affirmed.

In a video message, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed, stressed the need for strong multilateral cooperation to deliver sustainable development, and urged for turbocharging implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

"The need for strong multilateral cooperation to deliver sustainable development was reaffirmed by Member States at the Summit of the Future. The resulting Pact for the Future sends an unequivocal message: international cooperation is an imperative for addressing the multitude of crises we face today," Amina Mohammed emphasized, while also highlighting the role that ECLAC plays in supporting countries to achieve sustainable development.

Meanwhile, Argentina’s Ambassador in Peru, Samuel Ortiz Basualdo, speaking on behalf of ECLAC’s outgoing Chair, recognized the Commission’s significant impact on academic thinking and public policies in the region.

In his opening remarks, ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, urged the region to act and take decisive, integrated and coordinated action that would allow for overcoming development traps and moving towards a more productive, inclusive and sustainable future, as well as to help build a better world in the international scenario.

ECLAC’s highest authority noted this “unique and extraordinary time” that the world is living through, and he applauded the approval of the Pact for the Future, adopted at the Summit of the Future held in September at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

“At ECLAC we believe that, with the proper follow-up, the Pact for the Future can be an accelerator for attaining the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals,” he stated.

In addition, he celebrated the regional organization’s 75 years of contributions to the thinking and the execution of economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. And he reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to continue generating critical and innovative thinking, adapted to current challenges and demands in both the region and the world.

After the inauguration, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs presented a position document entitled Development Traps in Latin America and the Caribbean: Vital Transformations and How to Manage Them, which submits a new proposal for countries’ consideration on how to manage what ECLAC sees as the vital transformations for overcoming the traps and closing the development gaps that are affecting the region.

“This is not just any document, it aspires to charting new courses in ECLAC’s thinking, research and technical assistance and it invites governments and societies to rethink, reimagine and transform with a forward-looking or long-term vision to undertake building the future using strengthened, anticipatory government,” he affirmed.

He added that this is an innovative proposal that puts emphasis on the importance of moving from the “what” to the “how” to achieve these transformations. In other words, it offers recommendations that go beyond lists of goals and aspirations, systematically addressing the challenges of governance, institutional capacities, the political economy and social dialogue for bringing about successful transformations.

“With this document, we aspire to highlighting courses of action that, with a combination of pragmatism and effectiveness, would fuel hope that a brighter future is possible, in a region of peace, committed to development in democracy and to strengthened multilateralism and international cooperation,” he concluded.

The institutional document presented by ECLAC was commented on by a panel that was moderated by Elmer Schialer, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, and featured the participation of Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Piero Ghezzi, international expert in economic development and informality and former Minister of Production of Peru; Luis Bértola, Associate Professor in the Economic and Social History Program at the University of the Republic of Uruguay; and Eric Parrado, Chief Economist and General Manager of the Research Department at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

After the presentation, foreign ministers and other high-level authorities from ECLAC’s member countries participated in a dialogue on the region’s development challenges.

At this three-day meeting, authorities will also participate in a high-level seminar comprising four thematic panels that will address four of the 11 vital transformations that have been identified: how to achieve stronger, sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth; how to reduce inequality and foster inclusion and social mobility; how to promote sustainability and address climate change; and how to mobilize financial resources for development.

The meeting marks the start of Peru’s period serving as chair of ECLAC, which will last until the next session (in 2026), along with the end of Argentina’s term as chair (which began when the country hosted the 39th session, held in Buenos Aires in 2022).