The Virgin Islands (VI), represented by Special Envoy E. Benito Wheatley, recently participated in a virtual meeting of the leadership bureau of the Second Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation in Latin America and the Caribbean, a subsidiary body of the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Photo: Office of the Premier

The meeting was chaired by the Representative of Chile Mr Enrique O’Farrill Julien, Executive Director of the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AGCID). Photo: www.fundacioncarolina.es

The leadership bureau’s Chair and Vice Chairs discussed the priorities for cooperation between developing countries in providing each other with development assistance based on their expertise and capacity, a press release from the Office of the Premier stated.

'Strengthening cooperation'

Among other things, they considered: Strengthening development cooperation among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean; Strengthening dialogue and policy exchanges between Latin America and the Caribbean and other countries and regions of the Global South; Strengthening trilateral cooperation between development partners and Latin America and the Caribbean; and monitoring the implementation of international agreements that should benefit the countries of the Global South.

VI Special Envoy Mr E. Benito Wheatley participated in the leadership bureau meeting in his capacity as a Vice Chair of the Regional Conference.

VI helping to shape agenda

According to Mr Wheatley, “We are in the early stages of shaping the agenda of the Regional Conference on South-South Cooperation. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean must adjust to the new reality of traditional development partners shifting their priorities away from the needs of developing countries and toward priorities such as security, trade and other national interests.

As a region, we must now place much more emphasis on development cooperation between our countries, as well as with those development partners who stand ready to work with us through trilateral cooperation. The BVI will continue to contribute a Caribbean perspective to the dialogue as we shape the South-South Cooperation agenda.”

The meeting was chaired by the Representative of Chile Mr Enrique O’Farrill Julien, Executive Director of the Chilean Agency for International Cooperation for Development (AGCID), and also attended by representatives of Costa Rica, Peru, Mexico, Ecuador and the Virgin Islands who serve as Vice Chairs of the Regional Conference, as well as representatives of the secretariat operated by UN ECLAC.

The VI is also a Vice Chair of ECLAC’s Caribbean Development and Cooperation Committee (CDCC) and a Vice Chair of UN ECLAC itself.