In the context of his official visit to the country, the organization’s highest authority shared details about the institution’s priorities.

The Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, met in Buenos Aires with Diana Mondino, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship of Argentina, with whom he agreed to deepen mutual cooperation and align efforts to accelerate the South American country’s progress towards more productive, inclusive and sustainable development.

The meeting – held on Wednesday, April 3 at the Palacio San Martín – occurred in the context of an official visit by ECLAC’s Executive Secretary to Argentina, the country currently serving as Chair of the regional organization. Other participants included Deputy Foreign Minister Leopoldo Sahores; the Foreign Ministry’s Director of International Organizations, Alejandro Torres Lepori; and the Secretary of ECLAC, Luis Fidel Yáñez.

During the dialogue, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs shared details regarding ECLAC’s work priorities. He stressed that the main development challenge facing the region’s countries is how to make progress on building a more productive, inclusive and sustainable future, and how to do so under the new global geoeconomic and geopolitical conditions.

He specified that, in this process of construction, the regional commission has identified 11 major areas of substantial challenges that correspond to what the institution is calling the 11 major transformations that Latin America and the Caribbean needs in order to change its development model.

These areas of transformation are: 1) A major productive transformation; 2) The challenge of reducing inequality and increasing social mobility; 3) Improving social protection systems; 4) Improving education and vocational training; 5) Moving towards gender equality; 6) Promoting an environmental big push to advance towards sustainability and tackle climate change; 7) The digital transformation; 8) Promoting safe, orderly and regular migration; 9) Strengthening regional economic integration; 10) Ensuring a healthy and strong taxation system; and 11) Strengthening governance, along with institutions’ technical, operational, policy and foresight capacities.

During the meeting, the two authorities also discussed Argentina’s work as Chair of ECLAC and addressed preparations for the seventh meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, which will be held on April 15-18 at the regional commission’s main headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

In addition, the organization’s Executive Secretary invited Foreign Minister Mondino to participate in ECLAC’s fortieth session, which will take place on October 8-11, 2024 in Lima, Peru.

Earlier in the day, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs visited the Industrial Organization of Argentina (UIA) and met with its president, Daniel Funes de Rioja.