LatAm countries agree to spur change in region's development pattern: UN agency

UN

BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 26 (Xinhua) -- Foreign ministers and other top officials from Latin America and the Caribbean on Wednesday agreed on the urgent need to jointly spur change in the region's "development pattern," said the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

Government representatives from ECLAC's 33 member countries approved proposals presented by the United Nations agency "to propel a change in the development pattern and to promote ambitious, transformative actions for a sustainable recovery, following the cascade of crises the region has endured in the last few years."

Discussions were held on the closing day of the ECLAC's 39th session, which took place from Monday to Wednesday in Buenos Aires with the participation of foreign ministers from Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela, among other countries.

The meeting was chaired by Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, who highlighted the fact that the challenges Latin America and the Caribbean face are derived from historical inequality, and productive and gender gaps, as well as current problems.

"The dialogue we are holding today not only enriches the debate, but also, fundamentally, the path that will move our continent toward human and economic development with social justice," Cafiero said.