Dominican official calls for EU-Caribbean cooperation consensus

Sato Domingo.- Dominican Republic /PRNewswire/– Dominican Republic has become the capital of transatlantic diplomacy todaywith the reception of more than 30 ministers and 59 delegations of countriesparticipating at the first meeting of Foreign Ministers and Senior Officials ofthe Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the EuropeanUnion states, event that will be held until Wednesday.

Federica Mogherini, Vice President and HighRepresentative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security willaccompany the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Miguel Vargas Maldonado, in thedevelopment of the CELAC-UE meetings in the Caribbean nation.

The Minister from the Dominican Republicmotivated his counterparts from the Community of Latin American andCaribbean-European Union to participate actively in the dialogues, exhortingthat the decisions taken should be based on consensus among participants,putting the general interest of bi-regional community first.

"We are at a critical point, where weare committed to ensure that the European CELAC-EU forum fulfills itstranscendental purpose that has arisen facing common global challenges."

"Therefore, I appeal to you all, so thatyour efforts are oriented towards consensus, under a constructive spirit, aimedat reconciling positions, putting aside what separates us, focusing on thegoals that unite us", added chancellor Vargas, as he welcomes the start ofthe of conclave discussions with a meeting of Senior Officials of the CELAC-EU.

Delegations Arriving

Since early hours, the Ministry of ForeignAffairs has been receiving the different delegations arriving in the countrywhich include on the side of Latin American and Caribbean countries, the VicePresident and Foreign Minister of Panama, Isabel De Saint Malo Alvarado; theforeign ministers of Chile, Heraldo Muñoz; Colombia, Maria Angela Holguin; Haiti,Perriot Delienne; Ecuador, Guillaume Long; El Salvador, Hugo Martinez;Guatemala, Carlos Raul Morales Moscoso; Bolivia, David Choquehuanca Cesoede;Belize, Wilfred Elrington; Antigua and Barbuda, Charles Henry Fernandez.

The ministers of Dominica, Francine Baron;Bahamas Frederick Mitchell; Barbados, Maxine McClean; Jamaica, Kamina JohnsonElizabeth Smith; Saint Kitts and Nevis, Mark Brantley; Argentina, SusanaMalcorra; Honduras, Maria Dolores Lara Aguero; Costa Rica, Manuel González Sanzand Paraguay, Eladio Loizaga.

Meanwhile already in the Dominican capitalare the European foreign ministers: from Portugal, Augusto Santos Silva;Latvia, Edgar Rinkevis; Poland, Witold Easzcykowski; Bélgoica, Didier Reynders;Slovakia, Miroslav Lajkac; Luxembourg, Jean Asselborn and Hungary, PeterSzijjarto.

Delegations led by deputy ministers andofficials have arrived in Santo Domingo to join technical meetings, whose firstand preliminary sessions initiated Sunday afternoon at the Foreign RelationsConvention Center.

Several sessions of this kind will take placeuntil tomorrow Tuesday afternoon, when the formal meeting of the ForeignMinisters will initiate with an opening ceremony led by Minister of ForeignAffairs of the Dominican Republic, Miguel Vargas and Vice President / HighRepresentative of the European Union Affairs Foreign and Security FedericaMogherini, with the presence of the Dominican President Danilo Medina.

Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas pointed outthat in accordance with the commitment made by the Dominican Republic as acountry holding the Presidency Pro Tempore of CELAC, the Ministry has deployedall the arrangements and requirements for this encounter between LatinAmerican, European, and Caribbean partners, stemming that the meetings be heldauspiciously, with the will of strengthening the bi-regional dialogue for thebenefit of our peoples and nations.

The Foreign Ministry has worked with effortand dedication to uphold the image of the country and further strengthen theregional leadership of the Dominican Republic.

After the speech, the 30 ministers and 59delegations from the countries participating in the summit began technicalmeetings behind closed doors.