Representatives of governments, international institutions, academics and members of civil society are participating in the three-day meeting and will work in five discussion and analysis panels.

At the beginning of the session, ECLAC Executive Secretary José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs presented an overview of the current situation in the region, characterized by chronically low growth.

It is not just the impact of the 2020 health crisis, but a problem that has been affecting us for a long time and will continue for the foreseeable future, the official said.

In the 2014-2023 period, the countries of the region grew on average 0.8 percent a year, which is less than half of what was achieved during the so-called lost decade of the 1980s, he added.

By 2023, the increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will be 1.7 points and one year later it will drop to 1.5 percent, noted Salazar-Xirinachs, who explained that there is not much hope of receiving a boost from the world economy and, therefore, countries must redouble their development efforts.

The ECLAC Executive Secretary said that the ministries of social development and the related bodies responsible for fighting poverty, inequality, discrimination and access to basic services are gathered here.

The challenge is how to achieve a solid, flexible institutional framework that can respond to the changes caused by the cascading crises that is affecting the region, he pointed out.

Samantha Marshall, Minister of Health and Environment of Antigua and Barbuda, referred to the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic and climate change, which created more vulnerability in the most exposed countries.

During the meeting, Chile was elected president of the 5th Conference, a position assumed by the Minister of Social Development and Family, Javiera Toro.

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