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Opening remarks by HR/VP Kaja Kallas for the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly High-level Week

23.09.2026

Opening remarks for the meeting between the Foreign Ministers of the European Union (EU) and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly High-level Week

It is a real pleasure to welcome you all here this early morning. Welcome to the EU Delegation. It is good to see so many ministers around the table.

We have actually 40 ministers from both regions, which shows how important our cooperation really is.

And this is the third EU-CELAC ministerial meeting. Three can already be said it’s a tradition. So I hope that we continue this format during UNGA week in the future.

And we have a solid basis: 

  • The EU is CELAC, Latin America’s third largest trade partner; 
  • our bilateral trade has increased 62% over the past decade; 
  • Our extensive network of EU trade agreements covers 97% of regional GDP.   

We are among the closest partners in the world, in all our diversity.  We are bound by a shared history, common values, and overlapping interests.  We speak each other’s languages.  We share a commitment to multilateralism as the only path to tackle challenges no single region can solve alone. 

This week, the world’s attention is rightly focused on crises and conflicts. But together we also demonstrate that cooperation and partnership among 60 countries – one-third of the United Nations- still delivers. 

The EU´s engagement is both broad and deep. We invest with you, open economic opportunities for you and are here to support you in time of crisis, including natural disasters. And my colleagues, Josef and Hadja, are also here to underscore the importance of this vital partnership in terms of cooperation and humanitarian support. 

Today, we will endorse our joint Roadmap. This is a collective plan of action to deepen our partnership where it matters most:  

  • Defence of shared values and multilateralism; 
  • Strengthening security and combating organised crime; 
  • Advancing green, digital, and just transitions. 

Let’s put our words into action and make sure the future is safer and more prosperous for our 1.12 billion citizens.

Thank you.