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President Gustavo Petro arrived at the Pozos Colorados Convention Center in Santa Marta to kick off the IV CELAC–EU Summit, which will seek to strengthen dialogue between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. (Lea esta noticia en español aquí) "My expectation of this summit, given the situation the world is currently experiencing, the barbaric problems that are evident even here in the city, in our sea, is that both Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean will constitute a kind of democratic beacon for humanity, capable of standing united against any barbarism, denouncing it, addressing it to correct it, not only with words but with action, capable of rescuing the concept of free humanity, sovereignty, and multilateralism", the president told the media. An hour before the head of state's arrival, Vice President Francia Márquez arrived. Since yesterday, the senior official has been holding meetings and gatherings with President Petro, with whom she attended the Latin America and Caribbean–European Union Business Forum, “a key space for strengthening bi-regional cooperation and promoting alliances that drive inclusive, sustainable, and fair development.” “We are at a historic moment: Latin America and the Caribbean have the opportunity to build alliances with the EU that go beyond trade and capital, that strengthen human dignity, reduce inequalities, and preserve our common home, the planet,” said Márquez. On Saturday, the vice president also listed three strategic lines for joint progress: energy transition and environmentally friendly production; digital transformation and infrastructure that connects people; and bi-regional business cooperation with a human touch. The first to arrive at the venue where the meeting between world leaders was taking place was Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio. Upon her arrival at the Convention Center, the Minister of Foreign Affairs made a statement to the media prior to the opening of the IV CELAC-EU Summit. The declaration is going very well, the declaration has been agreed upon, and in due course we will read it and make it known to the whole of society. Naturally, the agreement has had some points that have been negotiated at length, discussed, and we have been preparing it for quite some time, and of course there is support for the rejection of all types of war, all types of disrespect for sovereignty, but it also focuses above all on the major challenges we face as a region, which have to do with the energy transition to clean energy, closing the digital divide, and addressing climate change issues, values shared with the European Union", said Villavicencio. She also commented on negotiations with Venezuela for the release of Colombians imprisoned in the neighboring country and announced that a bilateral meeting would be held today. “We continue to work on it. As you know, about 10 days ago, 18 Colombians were released, including an Ecuadorian police officer, and we will have a bilateral meeting with the Venezuelan foreign minister to discuss this and other issues, but mainly to seek the release of all these detainees”, said. MARÍA ALEJANDRA GONZÁLEZ DUARTE Political journalist Editor's note: This text is an artificially intelligent English translation of the original Spanish version, which can be found here. Any comment, please write to berdav@eltiempo.com
