St. Vincent Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, as President Pro Tempore of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), hosted a historic event on Monday, September 18, 2023, bringing together leaders of CELAC and the African Union (AU) to build a strategic collaboration.

According to Gonsalves, it is critical for CELAC and the AU to embrace each other in the real spirit of cooperation for the benefit of the over 2 billion people who live in these two continents and regions: Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

Leaders at the event who expressed their desire to deepen and strengthen relations between the two regions included H.E. Azali Assoumani, President of Comoros and Chairperson of the African Union; H.E. Xiomara Castro, President of the Republic of Honduras and Incoming President Pro Tempore of CELAC; H.E. Alberto Fernandez, President of the Republic of Argentina; H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chair of the African Union Commission; and H.E. Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federative Republic of Brazil.