Governments from Latin America and the Caribbean Endorse ECLAC’s Recommendations for Achieving the Transformations that the Region Needs

The Fortieth Session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) concluded today in Lima, Peru, with Member States and associate members recognizing and endorsing the proposals and recommendations presented by the organization for achieving more productive, inclusive and sustainable development in the region.

At this three-day event – which is the United Nations regional commission’s most important gathering, held every two years – ECLAC shared its vision with the delegations of the 36 countries in attendance regarding the traps affecting Latin America and the Caribbean’s development, and the transformations needed to overcome them. In this regard, the organization invited them to rethink, reimagine and transform the region’s development models.

The proposals, contained in a position document entitled Development Traps in Latin America and the Caribbean: Vital Transformations and How to Manage Them, and their emphasis on the “hows” – brought to bear on the concrete and practical issues of governance; the technical, operational, political and prospective (TOPP) capabilities of institutions; spaces for social dialogue; and the political economy of the transformations – have been well received and give rise to a conversation that is not only very fruitful, but also very useful and pragmatic, the organization’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, said during the event’s closing session.

“Our position document takes as its starting point our reading of the three traps in which we see the region mired: one involving low capacity for growth; another of high inequality, low social mobility and weak social cohesion; and a third relating to low institutional capacities and ineffective governance. It also addresses the challenges of climate change and of an environmentally unsustainable development pattern,” the senior United Nations official indicated.

“In the document, we warn about the dangers of not taking action to escape these traps and close the gaps, dangers that can lead us to a variety of dystopic scenarios involving stagnation, greater environmental degradation, greater inequality, more poverty, fear, frustration, polarization and conflict,” Salazar-Xirinachs added.

He highlighted the Dialogue of Foreign Ministers with which this Session began (on Wednesday, October 9), where they discussed the Pact for the Future, recently adopted (at the United Nations General Assembly) as a step in the right direction, and a very useful framework for strengthening international cooperation on important matters and strengthening the multilateral system. “The world and Latin America and the Caribbean need and would benefit from a world at peace; a strong multilateral system; a trade system governed by rules; collaboration to move towards sustainable development; to make progress on the SDGs; and to tackle climate change,” the Executive Secretary declared.

He also pointed up the high-level seminar comprising four panels that was held in the framework of the meeting on October 10-11, in which distinguished panelists and delegates discussed the development traps and vital transformations; the trap of low growth and how to achieve stronger, sustained, inclusive and sustainable growth; how to reduce inequality and foster inclusion and social mobility; and how to promote sustainability and address climate change.

“ECLAC will continue to collaborate with the region’s countries to move towards the vital transformations that would enable us to overcome these development traps and move towards a more productive, inclusive and sustainable development pattern. You can count on ECLAC to keep being a strategic partner for you as governments and in general for societies in the region, to promote innovative ways of addressing challenges and managing changes and the necessary transformations,” the Executive Secretary emphasized.

At the 40th Session’s closing ceremony, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, Elmer Schialer, expressed gratitude for having had the opportunity to host the meeting and indicated that during his country’s term as the new Chair of ECLAC – a period that will last until the next session in 2026 – the Commission will continue developing a series of initiatives to have an impact on our economies and on our peoples’ well-being.   

“As we have confirmed in these last few days, only by working together will we be able to confront today’s challenges. By hosting this session in our country, Peru has sought to prompt a confluence of ideas with a view to developing a work agenda that would foster regional cooperation, as well as the implementation of public policies and programs on inclusion, an improvement in the population’s overall well-being and the fight against inequalities,” the Foreign Minister stated.

“As President Dina Boluarte emphasized at the inauguration of this event, ECLAC’s document is valuable because it analyzes our region’s current situation and its main challenges, and also suggests various lines of action for achieving the transformations it proposes. It is now up to each Member State, through their relevant sectors, to evaluate and assess these proposals, taking into consideration their national circumstances and their priorities, in order to make proper use of this important tool,” the Peruvian official added.

At the end of the event, the country delegates approved 14 resolutions – presented by ECLAC’s Secretary of the Commission, Luis Fidel Yáñez – including the “Lima Resolution” in which governments welcome ECLAC’s report and the integrated approach to development that has marked the thinking of the Commission since its inception. Along with endorsing the report’s conclusions, they also request that ECLAC conduct studies and formulate public policy proposals in the countries, in close cooperation with their policymakers, with a view to supporting the building of national capacities for the achievement of sustainable development in its three dimensions, and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

On the last day of the gathering, officials also presented a report on the activities of ECLAC’s subsidiary bodies and the outcomes of other intergovernmental meetings organized by ECLAC since its 39th Session, and delivered a report on the activities of the Commission, 2023, along with the draft programme of work for the ECLAC system, 2026.

Finally, the delegates approved the Dominican Republic’s offer to serve as host country for the next session, due to take place in 2026.