Heads of the State and Government of the European Union (EU) as well as the Community of the Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC) to hold meeting in the capital city of Brussels for the EU-CELAC Summit. The Summit will take place from July 17 to July 18, 2023; the first in the eight years.
It is to be noted that, the Summit will be co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Prime Minister of St Vincent Grenadines, Ralph E. Gonsalves, as pro-tempore Presidency of CELAC.
The Summit will be attended by the President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, along with the Heads of the State and Government of the thirty-three (33) CELAC Member States and the twenty-seven (27) EU Member States will be in attendance.
Notably, the delegation from the St Kitts and Nevis will headed by the Prime Minister, Dr Terrance Drew, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Denzil Douglas, Minister of Sustainable Development; Environment and Climate Action, Dr Joyelle Clarke, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kaye Bass, Permanent Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, Naeemah Hazelle, as well as the Press Secretary to the Prime Minister, Adelcia Connor-Ferlance.
Meanwhile, a dedicated meeting will take place between the leaders of the Caribbean and the European Union before the EU-CELAC Summit, with an aim to hold a concentrated political conversation on pertinent mutually beneficial issues like the green transition, climate finance, the structured cooperation between the EU and the Caribbean region, existing security threats such as Haiti, and the larger geopolitical environment.
The Meeting of the Caribbean-EU Leaders is the only sub-regional meeting taken place on the sidelines of the Summit.
The Summit is a significant political milestone in reinvigorating the bi-regional alliance. The EU-CELAC Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in Buenos Aires on October 27, 2022, has opened high-level political interactions between the two regions and supported a bi-regional Roadmap as a tangible symbol of a progressive and positive agenda.
The European Union has published a New Agenda for the ties with the Latin America and the Caribbean on June 7 (adopted by the European Commission as a Joint Communication to the Council and the European Parliament) highlighting its proposal for a renewed strategic collaboration with the LAC ahead of the Summit.
During the summit, Leaders of EU-CELAC will likely to discuss major topics of concern, include climate financing, empowering the common trade agenda, implementing the Global Gateway investment strategy to drive a fair green and digital transition and addressing inequalities, joining forces for justice, citizen security, as well as the rule of law, human rights and humanitarian aid.
