Photo: Fotografía oficial de la Presidencia de Colombia.
According to a report by the news outlet Hoy, during the CELAC summit, in which Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia, assumed the pro tempore presidency of this community of states, the Colombian president announced that due to the high tariffs imposed by the United States on various countries, he would meet with the People's Republic of China, the European Union, countries from the aforementioned CELAC, and with nations from the Persian Gulf.
Specifically, President Petro stated that the region must open itself globally and that CELAC member countries must act jointly as a bloc. Regarding the meetings, the Colombian president mentioned that the key meetings with China will take place at the end of April, then in November with the European Union, and afterwards, meetings with African countries and CELAC will be finalized.
On the other hand, regarding the roadmap of the CELAC summit, President Petro said that there are three main topics that must be discussed with all the nations belonging to the group, in order to consolidate the unity of the members.
He also mentioned that an agreement was reached with the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, which is the nation that will assume the presidency in two years, to continue in the direction of promoting Latin American integration through projects that generate a bridge of unity among the CELAC nations.
Another of CELAC’s goals, according to the Colombian president, is to strengthen the clean energy sector and treat it as a key area. Likewise, he hopes that a health agency can be created to focus on the development of essential medicines in order to be prepared for health problems or pandemics like the one that occurred in 2020. He also said that he will coordinate plans to strengthen topics related to artificial intelligence, quantum mathematics, and the space race.
In the same line, according to the news outlet Blu Radio, President Petro made two proposals for CELAC. One is the creation of working groups focused on the study and analysis of international geopolitics, on topics such as the fight against organized crime and the coordination between police and military forces in the region. The other proposal aimed to eliminate the power of veto and instead adopt a form of sufficient consensus, to be determined by a majority.
On another note, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia issued a statement regarding this CELAC summit, in which they expressed that Laura Sarabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed increasing the region’s energy and commercial integration, noting that, so far, intraregional trade only accounts for 15% of the total. Likewise, she proposed achieving a common roadmap for the member nations of the group.
Moreover, during her presence at the summit, Minister Sarabia held a meeting with Qiu Xiaoqi, Special Representative of the Chinese government for Latin American affairs, where it was agreed that the CELAC–China summit will be held in the capital of the People’s Republic of China on May 13, and it will be attended by the CELAC troika and the new pro tempore president of the group, Gustavo Petro.
Main Source:
Presidente Petro anuncia reuniones con China, Unión Europea y CELAC por los aranceles de Trump – Diario del Magdalena
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