SELA Council Meeting in
Trinidad & Tobago
Twenty-seven Latin American and Caribbean countries
will analyse the main issues on the regional economic agenda
Port-of-Spain, 8th September 1997. Ministers of Foreign Affairs, high level government officials, and representatives of international organisations will gather in Port-of-Spain from 6 to 9 October to hold the XXIII Annual Meeting of the Latin American Economic System (SELA).
This announcement was made by the Minister of foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago, Ralph Maraj at a joint press conference today, 8th September, with SELA Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Carlos Juan Moneta, of Argentina, and the Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr. Luis Alberto Rodriguez, of Trinidad and Tobago, who are currently in the country finalizing details for the Meeting.
The SELA officials noted that it will be the first time in the 22 years of the institution's existence that a Latin American Council Meeting will be held in a Caribbean country. The meetings are held to design and approve the policies to be implemented by the Organization.
Traditionally, the meetings of the Council are held at SELA headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela although over the past ten years several Member States have served as hosts, including Peru, Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador and Uruguay.
SELA promotes consultation and co-ordination of efforts, striving for joint positions for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on different issues of interest to the region. The Organization also facilitates co-operation and exchanges of experiences among its 27 Members.
SELA's Members are: Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The XXIII Meeting of the Latin American Council of SELA will be treating those issues currently of most interest for the region: i.e. the new rules for international trade, external relations of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Helms-Burton Law, and regional integration, among other aspects.
The Council's discussions are divided into two stages. The first stage is essentially the technical part of the Meeting; scheduled from 6 to 7 October. The ministerial stage follows on 8 and 9 October.
The Honourable Basdeo Panday, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago will open the Ministerial Meeting at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 8 October with a panel on "Growth and Employment" which will count on the participation of numerous distinguished international personalities, experts, and representatives of organizations involved with this issue.
An in-depth study of the interaction between growth and employment was unanimously requested by the 27 SELA Member States at its previous Council Meeting. This demonstrates the matter's importance for the entire region. At the Council Meeting the conclusions reached at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro from 24 to 26 September will also be presented, together with the final report of the Second Meeting of the Regional Forum on Industrial Policy held in Caracas during July, at which time this matter was also discussed.
The Permanent Secretary will present the Report of Activities at the Secretariat to the technical stage of the Meeting. The SELA Work Programme for the forthcoming year will also be up for discussion.
Other matter of interest for the Caribbean region include the end of the Lomé Agreements in the year 2000 and the impact this will have, together with the possibilities for the Caribbean's linkage with other Latin American subregions, and the treatment of asymetries between countries in trade and integration schemes.
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