Work on this issue contributes to the implementation of Chapters 5 and 8 of the EU-CELAC Action Plan (2015), as well as the Declarations of the EU-CELAC. In the declaration of the 2nd EU-CELAC Ministerial Meeting (Brussels, 2018), the common challenge of improving productivity is recognised as an important engine of growth and prosperity, environmental sustainability, sustainable development and innovation. Furthermore, the mandate to EU-CELAC senior officials to undertake consultations at different levels with the business sector and other relevant parties to identify objectives and modalities for a possible EU-CELAC partnership on productivity, based on a common agenda and joint efforts between the public and private sectors, relevant regional organisations and international financial institutions in the two regions, was reiterated.
In this regard, the Foundation has set as a medium-term objective to strengthen the bi-regional partnership to achieve sustained economic revival while promoting social cohesion and inclusion and protecting the environment. Achieving this goal means reaching the following milestones on an annual basis:
- To strengthen knowledge and the generation of information for mutual understanding between agents from both regions on sustainable and inclusive economy issues (2021);
- To increase exchange and cooperation between actors from both regions to promote associations and networking on sustainable and inclusive economy issues (2022);
- To strengthen mutual understanding, trust and understanding of the objectives of sustainable economic policies as a strategic axis of relations between the EU and CELAC (2023).