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Dr. Leonel Fernández Asks the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to be the Voice of Latin America and the Caribbean

San Salvador, 9/5/2012

Dr. Leonel Fernández, former president of the Dominican Republic and President of Global Foundation for Democracy and Development (GFDD) and Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE), affirmed that the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) should serve as a space for cooperation, integration and political dialogue on global issues for Latin American and the Caribbean countries.

Dr. Fernández asserted that in addition to CELAC’s role as a platform of common interest with relation to Latin American integration, that the representative body should also represent Latin America and the Caribbean within the G-20.

“The strong desire and political will we see to strengthen CELAC as the voice that represents all of Latin America and the Caribbean on global matters exists everywhere,” conveyed Dr. Fernández, who spoke during the close of the thirty-forth session of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL), celebrated in San Salvador, August 27 – 31, 2012.

“We feel profoundly proud to be able to count on countries like Mexico, Argentina and Brazil that have representation with the most powerful economic group in the world – the G20. However, I feel that we have not had the opportunity as a region to see exactly what the participation of these sister countries consists of; because until now, it has been considered as a particular agenda. It is the agenda of Brazil, Mexico and Argentina that is brought before the G20, not that of Latin America and the Caribbean,” emphasized the former president.

He explained that when Brazil, Argentina and Mexico were selected to be part of the G20, the idea was for these countries to serve as a symbolic representation to the region. The former Head of State insisted that he would like to see if the representation of those countries to the G-20 could serve as a representative voice of all of Latin America and the Caribbean.

He argued, however, that there are certain deficiencies within the framework of CELAC, given that an Executive Secretary does not exist that follows up on agreements that cause controversy within the organization to avoid difficulties in executing commitments and resolutions, as has been the case with the Ibero-American summits.

The former Dominican president specified that in place of the group of three uniting periodically, permanent meetings should be convened to follow-up on decisions and agreements that are established during the summits of Heads of States and the ministerial summits.

Dr. Fernández established that CELAC, as a common representative entity, should also serve as the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean to the globalized world. In this sense, he argued that the globalized world should move beyond inter-regional and bi-regional relations.

“If we look closely at the global world of bi-regional and inter-regional relations, I believe it would be more tangible that they benefit our region. From here, we can speak of relations with the European Union, and CELAC would be the channel by which to establish these links. Clearly there will be bilateral relations between countries of the European Union and those of Latin America and the Caribbean, but there can also be a relation of inter-regional character,” stated Dr. Fernandez.

Other points of integration for CELAC countries include the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East. In this way, CELAC would be contributing to the rise of a new paradigm of international relations based on inter-regional linkages.

The Latin American leader posited that this is a channel of regional representation, but, however, lacks the internal dialogue to represent the entire Latin American and Caribbean region.

The United Nations
Dr. Fernández highlighted that the United Nations System continues to be widely regarded as an organization of global presence, with the capacity to summon, and the prestige to establish new and different political trends.

He ascertained that, without a doubt, the United Nations System is an entity that is functioning in a modern world, yet is based on institutions that emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War. Along these lines, the former president of the Dominican Republic urged Member States to add to their respective agendas of work the task of defining what should be the project of each distinct United Nations entity, beginning firstly with the Security Council. Dr. Fernández articulated that Latin America, being an emerging force in the global world, should have some type of representation within this body, but presently does not.

“I believe that through the framework of CELAC, we could arrive at a distinctly unique Latin American position, and hence should be the process through which to reform the United Nations System,” underscored Dr. Fernández.

Latin American Advances
The former Dominican president specified that with regard to regional integration, Latin America has made notable advancements, not only in the political arena, but also in terms of commerce, energy, infrastructure and financial matters. He praised organizations such as Corporación Andina de Fomento (Andean Development Corporation) and the Inter-American Development Bank and other similar institutions.

He cited the case of the Banco de Desarrollo de Brasil (BNDES) (Development Bank of Brazil), which finances Brazilian corporations that realize work in the Dominican Republic and other Caribbean countries related to the construction of highways and bridges and other infrastructure projects, as well as Colombian and Mexican transnational companies.

Additionally, Dr. Fernández identified the Petrocaribe Agreement, which includes long-term financing, as one of the most effective examples of regional integration.

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