The President and the representatives of the EuroLat discussed the EU-Latin American strategic partnership, economic cooperation, development cooperation, environmental issues, climate change, and international migration.
Dalia Grybauskaitė underlined that the European Union was interested in promoting an open and free trade with the Latin American region - one of the fastest growing economies in the world. The volume of EU trade with Latin America is expanding on a continued basis. The European Union is also the largest foreign investor in the region. Its total investments amount to 400 billion euros, accounting for almost half of all foreign investment in Latin American countries.
The President said that negotiations over free trade agreements with the EU's strategic partners, including Mercosur countries - Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela - were high on the Lithuanian EU Presidency agenda.
The strategic partnership between the European Union and the Latin American and Caribbean region was formed in 1999. Three years ago, a comprehensive action plan was approved at the Madrid Summit, which set forth the guidelines for advancing EU-Latin American relations. It placed special focus on sustainable economic and social development, democratic principles, women's rights, education, research, climate change, and migration.
