Business View Caribbean | Volume 9, Issue 3

3 BUSINESS VIEW CARIBBEAN VOLUME 9, ISSUE 3 R epresentatives of the 33 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean championed the Forum on Sustainable Development as an indispensable space for regional integration and cooperation amid global uncertainty, during the Fifth Meeting of that intergovernmental gathering, inaugurated March 7 by the President of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado; the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed; and the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena. The Fifth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development – which took place in San José, Costa Rica, the country that currently COUNTRIES OF LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN CHAMPION THE FORUM ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT holds ECLAC’s presidency – brought together more than 1,200 people, including government delegates and representatives of international and United Nations System organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society. They reviewed the progress and challenges related to implementation of the 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean, the developing region most affected by COVID-19 from a health, economic and social point of view. “These last few years have shown us that, in this interdependent world, it is not possible to survive alone, beyond the immediate term. We will never be safe if we do not save everyone. This is the clamor coming from our region, which allows us to put our attention, our efforts and O p e n i n g L i n e s