SELA gets unanimous support from Member Statesat
the closing of XXXI Regular Meeting of the Latin American Council
Caracas, 23 November – The Latin American Economic System (SELA)
received today unanimous support from its member countries at the closing
session of the XXXI Regular Meeting of the Latin American Council, the main
decision-making entity of this organization comprising twenty-six Latin
American and Caribbean countries.
The meeting – held at the headquarters of the organization from Monday 21 to
Wednesday 23 – was opened at the technical level by the Permanent Secretary
of SELA, Ambassador Roberto Guarnieri, and the Ambassador of Costa Rica,
Walter Rubén Hernández, who was elected for the second consecutive year as
Chairman of the Latin American Council, to preside over the event.
As a result of the deliberations, the Council approved the conclusions and a
set of decisions, including those relating to the Work Programme of the
Permanent Secretariat for the year 2006, the Administrative Budget, the 30th
Anniversary of the Panama Convention establishing SELA, and the Government
of Venezuela’s proposal on the creation of the Action Committee on
“Alternatives for integration and cooperation in Latin America and the
Caribbean”.
The restructuring proposal submitted by the Permanent Secretariat of SELA
was approved within the framework of the meeting; and emphasis was made on
the fact that its full implementation hinges on the normalization of the
financial situation of the organization.
The Ministerial Stage was opened on Tuesday by the Venezuelan Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Alí Rodríguez Araque, who made emphasis on the validity of
the organization. “The mission of an institution like SELA, far from being
extinguished, demands even more research, study, analysis, preparation, and
determination”, he said.
“For the Venezuelan Government, SELA is the natural forum for Latin America
and the Caribbean to analyze and exchange experiences on the common problems
affecting our nations, as well as to promote the region’s integration. Today
more than ever, this organization should promote coordination and adoption
of joint positions that should reaffirm the presence and defend the
legitimate interests of our region, against the intentions of the more
powerful, both economically and military, to impose their political and
economic agendas that almost never take into consideration the reality of
our nations and the interests of the excluded majorities”, said Minister
Rodríguez Araque.
During the opening session of the Ministerial Stage, Ambassador Guarnieri
stated: “The objective of SELA was and continues to be the establishment of
a Permanent Secretariat fully in tune with the changing times and with the
demands posed by the far-reaching changes and adjustments which have been
taking place in the institutional system and in regional and global economic
relations and which have continued to evolve towards a situation essentially
different from the one that gave rise to the Panama Convention”.
“The mission of the restructured Secretariat is to succeed. It must succeed
for the benefit of its Member States and for ensuring the consolidation of
subregional integration processes. It must succeed in its convergence
towards a strong, just and internally balanced union of Latin American and
Caribbean nations”, Guarnieri said.
For his part, Costa Rican Ambassador Walter Rubén Hernández said: “This is
an organization for consultation, for analysis; an organization that helps
us to come up with ideas which can subsequently be put into practise in
order to improve not only the internal situation of our countries, but also
the situation of our nations as a whole”.
“The need for Latin American and Caribbean peoples to become integrated at
all possible levels makes it is important to continue to endow SELA with
talented people, to promote new ideas and debates, so as to find solutions
to the problems affecting us. This is a reality that all of us, Latin
American and Caribbean countries alike, have become fully aware of: the only
way to save ourselves is to save us together”, Ambassador Hernández said.
During the meeting, and in accordance with what had been agreed at the XXX
Meeting of the Latin American Council, held in November of last year, the
Permanent Secretariat submitted the judicial report on the adaptation of the
name “Latin American Economic System (SELA)”, for “Latin American and
Caribbean Economic System (SELAC)”.
In this regard, the Council decided that for legal purposes, in the future,
all the documentation from the Permanent Secretariat should carry the name
“Latin American and Caribbean Economic System” without changing the acronym
SELA.
The Permanent Secretariat also launched SELA’s Digital Centre, which is the
main coordinator of the Network for Information and Knowledge on Cooperation
and Regional Integration. The Centre is aimed at contributing towards
carrying out the organization’s activities and providing services with the
aggregate value of Information and Communication Technologies, for the
benefit of the Member States and the fulfilment of SELA’s objectives.
Finally, The Council thanked the Permanent Secretariat for its support to
the activities carried out and for the ceremony to commemorate the 30th
Anniversary of the Latin American Economic System.
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