34th European Union, Latin American and Caribbean Senior Officials Meeting

Joint Communiqué

Santiago, Chile, 20 April 2011

The Senior Officials of European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean countries met in Santiago, Chile, on April 29, to monitor the agreements of the Sixth EU-LAC Summit held in Madrid in May 2010, and to advance preparation work for the Seventh Bi-regional EU-LAC Meeting, to be held in Chile in 2012.

This is the first time the 34th EU-LAC Senior Official Meeting is held in this country, after Chile assumed the  presidency of LAC and the second time after the  Madrid Summit 2010, and was chaired by Chile’s Director General of Foreign Policy and SOM for the  EU-LAC Summit, Ambassador Alfonso Silva, on behalf of the Latin American  and  Caribbean sides and of the Chilean Presidency of the EU-LAC Summit 2010, while the European side was represented  by the Director of Latin America of the European External Action Service, Mr. Gustavo Martin Prada.

The Meeting reviewed the Madrid Action Plan and confirmed significant progress in various points of this document, where noteworthy results were achieved in the areas of science and technology, as well as in the dialogue on migration. It also presented an updated view of the new bodies that will influence  the bi-regional relationship: the Community of Latin  American and Caribbean States (CELAC, by its acronym in Spanish) and the European Union,  Latin America and the Caribbean Foundation, to be chaired as President by Ms. Benita Ferrero Waldner – former Commissioner for External  Relations of the European Commission , and by Mr. Jorge Valdéz Carillo- Ambassador of Peru’s  Mission in Brussels,  as Executive Director,  who were confirmed in these positions during the 34th SOM.

The Chilean presidency of the EU-LAC Summit 2012 also submitted proposals on the schedule, preparation, format and contents of the Seventh EU-LAC Summit of Santiago 2012, as well as the coordination work that is being carried out in order to reach definitions at the next EU-LAC Senior officials Meeting, to be held in Brussels in October 2011.