SANTIAGO, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from international organizations and Latin American government officials met to address the new cooperation challenges and the impact on the development of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) amid a complex external situation, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said Wednesday.
The high-level meeting, held on Sept. 13-14 at the ECLAC headquarters in Santiago, Chile, was attended by delegates from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru and Uruguay, as well as senior officials from international and multilateral organizations.
It was jointly organized with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Chilean Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Inter-American Development Bank.
"The participants highlighted the importance of international cooperation in these historic times, marked by unprecedented tensions such as the health and socioeconomic crises resulting from the global COVID-19 pandemic," ECLAC said in a press release.
Participants agreed that countries "are calling for a paradigm shift in development cooperation" in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, since rankings based solely on per capita income criteria do not reflect the multidimensional vulnerabilities, structural gaps and financing needs of the region's countries.
They pointed out that current classification and graduation mechanisms exclude middle-income countries from international cooperation and are no longer viable for addressing current multiple crises, including those associated with climate change and biodiversity loss.
The meeting also emphasized the importance of forming regional partnerships to tackle pressing priorities, as well as renewing partnerships between LAC and the European Union. ■
