The Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, Dr Adrián Bonilla, was in the Portuguese capital, from 22 to 25 June, to participate in the "III Portugal, Central America and the Caribbean Forum", which was co-organised with the Instituto para a Promoção da América Latina e Caraíbas (IPDAL) in the framework of the conclusion of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The event was held in a hybrid format with the participation of the ambassadors of the Central American countries in Lisbon, representatives of the Portugal - Central America and the Caribbean chambers of commerce, representatives of development banks, Portuguese private companies, international organisations and academia. In addition, the ambassadors of the Central American and Caribbean countries in Paris and the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs were digitally connected.
The forum was held under the theme "Multilateralism and the Association Agreements", to generate a reflection on the progress of the Agreement between the European Union and Central America and the Agreement between the European Union and the Caribbean, as well as its contribution to dialogue and multilateralism, and the role of Portugal in the framework of its implementation. Likewise, the Executive Director of the Foundation, Dr Adrián Bonilla, gave a speech on the importance of multilateralism and bi-regional relations, presenting the project that the EU-LAC Foundation is developing jointly with the Carolina Foundation on the challenges of the network of association agreements between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean.
The working agenda included meetings with the Deputy Director of General Foreign Policy, Ana Rocha, and the President, Paulo Neves, and the Secretary-General of IPDAL, Filipe Domingues, as well as with the ambassadors of the Latin American and Caribbean countries based in Lisbon to discuss relations between Latin America and the Caribbean and Portugal and more generally between the two regions.
The visit also included meetings with the Rector of the University of Lisbon, Antonio Sampaio da Novoa, with João Ribeiro de Almeida, President of the Camões Institute, and with Ana Paula Laborinho, Director of the Office of the Organisation of Ibero-American States (OEI) in Portugal to discuss possibilities for cooperation in the fields of higher education, culture and science and technology. In addition, the Executive Director met with the Secretary-General of the Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa (CPLP), Francisco Ribeiro, to explore possible joint initiatives on issues related to South-South-North cooperation in the coming year.
