As part of preparations for the Fifth Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Summit of Heads of Government and State being held in Punta Cana on 25 January 2017, the CELAC international cooperation working group is meeting in Santo Domingo on 12-13 January.
The deputy minister for international cooperation at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, Inocencio García, said that CELAC’s cooperation policies will be defined during the summit, and trends in South-South and triangular cooperation during the past year will also be discussed. The agenda also includes development funding, which has drastically declined in recent years. In addition, the ministers will be assessing a strategy that will enable middle-income countries like the Dominican Republic to continue receiving financial assistance to sustain the progress made in recent decades.
Another key item on the agenda is a review of development aid priorities for Haiti.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Program (FAO) will be presenting steps for an initiative aimed at strengthening public policies to adapt family farms and small-scale agriculture to climate change in the Caribbean.
García says that 23 countries have confirmed their attendance, including seven from the Caribbean region.
During the Fifth CELAC Summit of Heads of State and Government, the Dominican Republic will pass on the presidency to El Salvador. On the eve of the summit, the 21st Meeting of National Coordinators for CELAC will be held in Punta Cana.
The CELAC members are Antigua & Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
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