According to Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the organization, it is vital to evolve from a primary matter economy to a knowledge economy, including this principle into what we produce.

Following this idea, the Executive Secretary pointed out that larger investments on science, technology and educational institutions is a must. She talked about these issues during the Second EU-CELAC Academic Summit, where she stated that we need to understand the link there is among innovation, education and the productive sector in order to increase productivity. Bárcena said that “we lack a more comprehensive concept of our future and I believe it can start with academic training.”

She also highlighted the importance of working towards more equality as Latin America still is the most unequal region in the world. She stated that the only way to achieve this is through productive employment, which demands innovation, knowledge, productive diversification and environmental sustainability.

Bárcena insisted on the importance of having a global tax agreement to avoid evasion. In other words, to prevent illegal funds to assault development’s financing. Having that goal in mind she found it vital to make global tax agreements to, for example, put economies in order.

ECLAC wrote a publication that will be delivered as a contribution to the next Summit of Heads of State and Government of CELAC and EU, which will be developed in Panama on June 10^th and 11^th.

The report shows the social and economic reality of both blocs, and its’ goal is to deepen the dialogue between both regions and find common areas from which to work towards sustainable development.

The EU is the main investor in CELAC’s countries and its’ second trading partner. According to data from ECLAC, the commercial interexchange has an asymmetric behaviour and the EU still looks at the region as an exporter of primary matter and technologically poor by-products.