Latin America and the Caribbean Continues to Back Regional Cooperation for Achieving the 2030 Agenda: The Sustainable Development Forum Concluded at ECLAC

Ministers and senior representatives from Latin American and Caribbean countries reaffirmed today their commitment to effectively implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ensuring that no one is left behind, and recognized that strengthening regional cooperation is key to making joint progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), during the closing session of the ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, which was held starting on Monday, April 13 in Santiago, Chile, under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

In a 129-point document of conclusions and recommendations, approved at the end of the meeting, the delegates recognized that each country has primary responsibility for its own sustainable development, as well as for follow-up and review of the progress made on implementing the 2030 Agenda's Goals and targets at the local, national, regional and global levels. At the same time, they emphasized that strengthening cooperation among countries can facilitate joint progress towards the SDGs by fostering effective synergies, enabling the exchange of experiences and good practices and promoting coordinated efforts that enhance the collective impact of policies and initiatives across the region, in accordance with national circumstances and priorities.

The countries underscored that the 2030 Agenda is transformative and people-centered and that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. In this context, they stressed the importance of reaching the furthest behind first and empowering those in vulnerable situations.

The ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development brought together more than 1,200 people, including over 120 government delegates and more than 500 participants from civil society, academia, the private sector and international organizations. In total, nearly 15 plenary sessions and more than 50 side events were held.

The closing ceremony was led by Jorge Félix Rubio - Director-General for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru, in his capacity as Chair of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development - and José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC's Executive Secretary. Also participating was Luis Fidel Yáñez, ECLAC's Secretary of the Commission.

"At this ninth meeting of the Forum, we have reaffirmed the urgency of strengthening multilateralism and international cooperation, with the aim of articulating more effective and coordinated responses to the challenges of sustainable development," Jorge Félix Rubio affirmed.

He added that the Forum has also been a reminder that time is short. "We are just four years away from 2030. If we do not pick up the pace, many of the goals will not be achieved. But we did not come here to give up. We came here to reaffirm that, with political will, effective cooperation and civic participation, it is not too late," he declared.

Meanwhile, ECLAC's Executive Secretary emphasized that, in an international context marked by geopolitical tensions and by a questioning of the principles that underpin the multilateral architecture, the Sustainable Development Forum demonstrated the capacity for forging agreements, coordinating volitions, furthering shared agendas and, even amid differences, building bridges, creating trust and affirming the possibility of living in peace.

"This Forum has had specific items on the agenda, but it has also sent a powerful signal to say that we are here, we are not going anywhere, and there are still a great many of us committed to a more productive, inclusive and sustainable future for Latin America and the Caribbean. The 2030 Agenda has allies who are convinced, present and indefatigable. Congratulations," José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs said.

During the meeting, ECLAC presented the ninth report on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean, entitled The 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean: Accelerating Implementation in a New Era of Uncertainty and Geopolitical Fragmentation. The document includes updated data on the SDG indicators and warns that, at the current pace, just 19% of the targets are seen being met in the region by 2030; 42% are moving in the right direction, but at too slow of a pace, and 39% are either stalled or regressing in comparison with 2015.

In reference to this, the senior United Nations official urged for not giving in to pessimism, and he reiterated that partial progress is still progress.

"On 6 out of every 10 targets, certainly more than half, we are making progress. And on some of them, around 20%, that progress has been very significant. That is why we need to keep believing and keep working. Today I ask you to hold on to the feeling that is palpable in this room - the conviction, and determination - and take it with you when you walk through those doors, because it won't be easy to accelerate the pace under current circumstances. But I think it is possible. And it is necessary," he stated.

Finally, ECLAC's highest authority emphasized that the current international context, which is an era of ruptures, bears the seed of a renewed resolve for cooperation among those who remain committed to a world based on rules, on dialogue and on the pursuit of agreements, despite differences.

"We end this Forum under the leadership of the Secretary-General, António Guterres, whom we deeply thank for his commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. And we also look ahead: in 2027, we will hold our tenth Forum and we will do so in a new scenario, hopefully with someone from our region at the helm of the United Nations. I hope that change can enable a stage of renewed hope, of revitalized multilateralism and of concrete advances towards the peace and progress our peoples demand," he concluded.

In the document agreed upon by the governments gathered at the ninth meeting of the Forum, the participating countries present recommendations on twenty-odd issues of global and regional relevance, such as financing for development, the situation of middle-income countries, Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries, international trade, the digital transformation, social development, migration, equality and social inclusion, and climate change, among others.

In addition, they recognize the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean as an example of regional coordination for the follow-up of the 2030 Agenda, and they reaffirm the role of ECLAC as an essential component of the United Nations development system, highlighting its convening function, its public policy advice, the production of analyses and recommendations, and the technical support provided to Member States.