Prime Minister Fiala attended the EU-Latin America and Caribbean Summit in Brussels

On 17 and 18 July, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský attended the third summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Brussels. The leaders discussed strengthening trade cooperation and investment, strategic raw materials, ecological and digital transformation and the fight against climate change. The EU has concluded Memoranda of Understanding to launch a strategic partnership on critical raw materials with Argentina and Chile. The leaders adopted a final declaration as well as a joint declaration on the EU-Latin America Digital Alliance and the promotion of investment between the two regions. On the sidelines of the summit, the Prime Minister also met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric.

The Prime Minister stressed that the discussion was not always easy because the Latin America and Caribbean region is very diverse. In this area there are large and important economies with which the EU and the Czech Republic have a number of common interests and therefore topics for negotiations, especially in the area of trade cooperation. But there are also authoritarian regimes with which cooperation is difficult. “Nevertheless, I think that this summit has given a new impetus to the relations and set the way for strengthening the political and economic ties between the two regions. Among other things, we have agreed to meet more often in a similar format,” said Prime Minister Fiala. More on the summit conclusions in joint declaration. 

The main priority of the Czech Republic was to strengthen mutual trade. “This region has a considerable business potential for Czech companies. The Czech Republic has long sought progress in the ongoing negotiations on trade agreements with Chile, Mexico and the Mercosur countries. These trade agreements can significantly strengthen our trade ties. This is important because we are looking for new business opportunities,” said the Czech Prime Minister. Exports of Czech companies to Latin America and the Caribbean are steadily increasing, last year they exported goods worth CZK 45 billion. Czech companies have a lot to offer South American partners, for example in the fields of energy, raw material extraction, engineering, automotive industry, aviation, defence industry or advanced technologies and cyber security.

Cooperation between the EU and CELAC countries on critical minerals is also of great importance. The EU has therefore prepared Memoranda of Understanding to launch a strategic partnership on critical raw materials with Argentina and Chile. This opens up access to raw materials that will be used by Czech industry in the future.

For the Czech Republic, the summit was beneficial in terms of strengthening bilateral relations. On the sidelines of the summit, Prime Minister Fiala met with Chilean President Gabriel Boric. “We talked about deepening economic cooperation. Czech companies can offer modern technologies and innovations in the fields such as renewable energy, mining, agriculture or environmental protection. I firmly hope that a modernised EU-Chile trade agreement can be agreed by the end of the year. This is an opportunity for new business activities of our exporters,”said the Prime Minister. During the summit, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jan Lipavský, held talks with his counterparts from Costa Rica, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala.