SELA welcomes appointment of Costa Rica’s José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs as new Executive Secretary of ECLAC

The Permanent Secretary of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), Ambassador Clarems Endara, welcomes the appointment of economist José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, from Costa Rica, as the new Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).

José Manuel Salazar will succeed diplomat Alicia Bárcena Ibarra, from Mexico, who on 31 March ended her nearly 14-year tenure at the helm of the regional commission, and whom UN Secretary-General António Guterres thanked for her commitment and dedication to the service of the United Nations.

Salazar was Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International Labour Organization (ILO) from 2015 to 2018. He joined the ILO in 2005 as Executive Director of the Employment Sector and served as Assistant Director-General for Policy from 2013 to 2015.

Prior to that, he served as Director of the Trade Unit of the Organization of American States (OAS) from 1998 to 2005. Salazar was Costa Rica's Minister of Foreign Trade from 1997 to 1998, executive president of the Costa Rican Development Corporation from 1988 to 1990, and chief economist and then executive director of a Central American private sector think tank (FEDEPRICAP) from 1990 to 1996.

SELA has always maintained a close relationship of cooperation with ECLAC and is sure to strengthen ties with the new Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, for more and better integration!