Preliminary activities for the 4th meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries kick off today

HAVANA, Cuba, Mar 15 (ACN) Preparatory activities prior to the 4th meeting of the Forum of Latin American and Caribbean Countries on Sustainable Development 2021 begin today, a space for countries to review the progress and challenges of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the region.

Rodrigo Malmierca Diaz, Cuban minister of foreign trade and foreign investment, will chair the Cuban delegation at the meeting, which for the first time will be held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Monday's session will include the Regional Workshop on Voluntary National Reviews in Latin America and the Caribbean (at the technical level), as well as the Business Forum for the Sustainable Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021: Public-Private Strategies for Sustainable and Inclusive Recovery.

There will also be several meetings, including a civil society meeting and a high-level meeting on Challenges in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of the associate members of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), with the participation of Alicia Barcena, Executive Secretary of this organization.

The event will be inaugurated tomorrow by Carlos Alvarado, president of Costa Rica, the country that holds the pro tempore presidency of ECLAC; Amina Mohammed, deputy secretary general of the United Nations; Munir Akram, president of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); and Alicia Barcena.

During the meeting, to be held until March 18, the countries will discuss the resilient and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, as well as building a better future in the Caribbean and the key issues for the implementation of the development agenda in the post-COVID-19 phase in the sub-region.

Barcena will also present the report Building a Better Future: Actions to Strengthen the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.