Germany launched an initiative on Tuesday (28.05.2019) to play a more relevant role in Latin America and the Caribbean, both politically and economically, in the face of European passivity, the US withdrawal and the rapid advances of China.
The proposal was presented in Berlin, at a meeting attended by twenty foreign ministers from the region, who positively valued the attempt to approach an actor that they already consider a reference, but who asked for continuity to obtain more results.
United by common “values,” “interests” and a “culture,” German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, Latin America, the Caribbean and Germany are “natural allies” that are needed in the face of China’s aggressive use of “economic power” and the growing unpredictability of the United States under President Donald Trump.
«In a world where the law of the strongest replaces the force of law, the States of Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean can only lose. None of us are superpowers.", he claimed.
For this reason, he proposed taking bilateral ties to a new level in the economic sphere - for which he called for greater "legal security" - and in the commercial sphere, stepping on the accelerator in the negotiations of the free trade agreements that the EU hopes to sign with Chile, Mexico and Mercosur.
Maas added that political collaboration must go beyond merely resolving crises and move into areas such as migration management, the fight against global warming and efforts to end "femicide and sexualized violence in conflicts."
Colombian Deputy Minister Luz Stella Jara told Efe that the German plan was "very positive" because it represents an "important opportunity" to open "new avenues for cooperation" and stressed that supporting this initiative should not be to the detriment of ties with other countries.
Bolivian Foreign Minister Diego Pary, who also welcomed the initiative, acknowledged to Efe that Berlin does not have the level of investment expected in the region and considered that the role of Germany, "a country of principles," "must go beyond the merely economic" and play "a political role of seeking alliances and partners" to "build a better world."
His Uruguayan counterpart, Rodolfo Nin, described the proposal as "very good and very timely" and in statements to Efe described it as a reaction to Beijing's policy in the region: "Europe has warned that China is coming on strong and is making an effort to compete..
«I think they are seeing that they need to get closer to Latin America, that there can be many similarities from the cultural, economic, commercial and complementary point of view. I hope that there is continuity that will allow results."He added.
The Argentine Foreign Minister, Jorge Faurie, considered in an interview with Efe that "it is good that a country of the size of Germany has a greater involvement with Latin America" and argued that Europe, in order to "preserve its centrality" must "regain its position in the region«.
Marian Schuegraf, the German Foreign Ministry's head of Latin America and the Caribbean, told Efe that Berlin is looking for "friends" among "democracies" in times of uncertainty to face together the challenges of "the future" and the growing "nationalism" and "egoism."
«We want to take advantage of this initiative to also be more active in Europe with regard to Latin America and the Caribbean."He said, after assuring that the initiative was not intended to compete with the traditional ties that partners such as Spain, Portugal and Italy have with the region.
Source: Reuters
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