CELAC in International Relations of Latin America (2010-2023)

During his speech at the Forum, Foreign Minister Wang Yi generally highlighted five points of cooperation between the parties within the framework of the BRI: the construction of infrastructure connecting `land and oceans'; the launch of an open market, which makes it possible to export Latin American products; the development of competitive sectors of the economy of LCA countries through the transfer of Chinese technologies; the development of innovations through the spread of the Digital Silk Road to the states of the region; and exchange of experience in various fields Ibidem..

According to E. Katkova and A. Eremin, it is noteworthy that the `Belt and Road Initiative' was practically not mentioned in the Cooperation Plans for the PRC and CELAC (in the first Plan of 2015, it was not mentioned at all, and in the second was mentioned once in the preamble in the context that the parties “take into account the opportunities offered by the BRI initiative”), although already at the time of the adoption of the second Plan, more and more Latin American and Caribbean countries expressed interest in the Chinese project Каткова Е.Ю., Еремин А.А. Отношения КНР с регионом Латинской Америки... С. 173..

On December 3, 2021, the Third Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum was held under the theme `Together Overcoming Current Difficulties and Creating Opportunities to continue building a China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Community.' The participants adopted the Declaration of the Third Ministerial Meeting of the CELAC-China Forum and the CELAC-China Joint Action Plan for Cooperation in Key Areas (2022-2024), based on the principles of solidarity, friendship, and shared development. The Declaration and Joint Action Plan focused on key areas for CELAC and China, such as cooperation in agriculture, trade and investment, culture, health, and education, among others Mexico chairs the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Celac-China Forum Press Release 563. December 03, 2021. Gobierno de Mexico. Secretana de Relaciones Exteriores. URL: https://bit.ly/47gKx49; Declaration of the Third Ministers' Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum. 2021-12-09. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China. China-CELAC Forum. URL: https://bit.ly/47lkbxS.

According to A. Borzova, Yu. Torkunova, and Yu. Agaev, China is actively implementing the concept of increasing cooperation with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, developed at the first CELAC-China Forum, which has a great impact on strengthening cooperation along the `South-South' line. The decrease in the involvement of the United States, which has focused on global issues and the withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership project, in the affairs of Latin American states, as well as the US-China trade war, allow to suggest that China's political, economic, and financial influence on LAC will increase. By providing loans, increasing investments, and strengthening trade ties, China provides support to its companies, which allows it to solve the problem of excessive capacity in the country and facilitates the implementation of structural changes to LAC. Chinese investments in key sectors of the economy, especially within the framework of the `Belt and Road Initiative', are stimulating the development of Latin American countries, which need to develop infrastructure and acquire access to advanced technologies Борзова А.Ю., Торкунова Ю.А., Агаев Ю.И. Китай - CELAC. С. 43..

CELAC-Russia. On September 27, 2013, at the 3rd CELAC Foreign Ministers Meeting, the Russian Federation's proposal to establish a CELAC-Russia Mechanism (Permanent Mechanism of Political Dialogue and Cooperation) was approved. On September 29, 2015, within the framework of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of CELAC and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation met in New York and initiated the establishment of a Permanent Mechanism for Political Dialogue and Cooperation between Russia and CELAC. The purpose of such a dialogue was “to strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest and to boost political dialogue and mutually beneficial relations, including the establishment of a permanent mechanism in the interests of the consistent development of the Sides” Joint Declaration of the CELAC-Russian Federation. 2015, September 29. Gobierno de la Republica del Ecuador. URL: https://bit.ly/47fINs9. A permanent mechanism of political dialogue and cooperation, called the `Russia-CELAC Mechanism', was put into effect.

`Russia-CELAC Mechanism' was supposed to promote political dialogue, trade growth and diversification, creation of cooperation programs, and exchange of successful experiences in fields of mutual interest, such as science, technology, and education, which contribute to the reduction of poverty and inequality, as well as the sustainable development of both regions, expansion of multilateral cooperation to support the efforts of the most vulnerable countries of the region, etc Ibidem..

Despite the attempt to intensify economic cooperation with CELAC countries, the Russian Federation has not managed to improve its position in the region. In 2001, the position of the RF in total exports and imports of Latin America was 0.6% and 1.6%, and in 2019 - 0.5% and 0.7% despite the significant growth of foreign trade of these countries. During that period, the PRC increased its trade volume by 20 times. Russian investments are also insignificant. The main problem is the lack of incentives to expand the contractual base, to create new negotiating platforms for the development of economic cooperation Borzova A.Yu., Eremin A.A., Ivkina N.V., Petrovich-Belkin O.K. Russia -- Latin America Economic Cooperation: Insights from EU -- CELAC Sustainable Development Concept. Вестник Российского университета дружбы народов. Серия: Международные отношения. 2021. Т. 21. № 4. С. 786..

At the same time, it is necessary to note a rather successful educational dialogue within the framework of which the Russia-CELAC Youth Forum is held. To date, five meetings have already been held (the last one took place on December 6, 2022, in Moscow). The Forum unites students from the Russian Federation and the Caribbean states, who discuss the problems of political, social, and economic development of the Russian Federation and the Caribbean states and determine the prospects for economic cooperation and partnership V Молодежный форум Россия -- СЕЛАК. 6 декабря 2022 г. МГИМО-университет. URL: https://mgimo.ru/about/news/social/v-forum-rossiya-selak/.

During 2022-2023, the Russian Federation was trying to establish a dialogue in the Russia-CELAC format. On January 30, 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation stated that “Russia is interested in activating the mechanism of the Russia-CELAC political dialogue and developing mutually beneficial forms of cooperation” and confirmed its interest in “cooperation in all areas, including trade and economic, scientific and technological, educational, humanitarian” МИД: Россия заинтересована в диалоге со странами объединения СЕЛАК. 30.01.2023. РИА НОВОСТИ. URL: https://ria.ru/20230130/selak-1848517256.html. However, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are in no hurry to return to intensifying cooperation with the Russian Federation, both for political and economic reasons, probably not wanting to deteriorate relations with key partners - the USA and the EU.

Conclusions

To summarize, we can state that CELAC continues to be an important factor in international relations, especially in the context of Latin American and Caribbean countries' desire to strengthen their cooperation and coordination.

CELAC is not a replacement for the cooperation and integration groups that have been set up around three distinct visions: the desire to actively open up to the world (Mexico, the South American countries of the Pacific Basin, and, to some extent, the Central American countries); the desire for a limited opening, subject to negotiations that seek first of all to bring about a very significant transformation in the international trading system (Mercosur); and the search for the special situation of small states to be recognized (CARICOM). The desire for CELAC to be an alternative body - especially to the OAS - does not enjoy regional consensus and it would be difficult to achieve with the resources this body currently has at its disposal.

The establishment of CELAC was one of the vivid manifestations of the `left turn' with its state-nationalist bias and emphasized interest in solving pressing social problems in domestic politics by the state from the top-down and ensuring its independence from global actors, primarily the United States. Those were also attempting some kind of `protection' from the globalization processes and the neoliberal leveling of the state's role in public life. However, the economic progress of Latin American countries was largely driven by the rapid economic growth of a new global player, China, which on an increasing scale was buying raw materials and selling inexpensive goods in the region. China has gradually become a major trading partner for numerous countries, and eventually an investor Космина В. Латинська Америка після «лівого повороту»... С. 55-56..

Although in general, CELAC's activities were ineffective (most of the region's problems had not been solved, including poverty, corruption, crime, etc.), there were examples of successful implementation of its decisions in 2013-2018. It is necessary to mention CELAC's mediation mission in resolving the diplomatic and humanitarian crisis between Colombia and Venezuela, active efforts to resolve the economic blockade of Cuba, peacekeeping activities in Colombia, and the development of external relations with the European Union, etc.

The low degree of effectiveness of this structure is due to the heterogeneity of the strategic interests of its members, different visions of models and principles of implementation of integration processes, as well as a high degree of differences in the social, economic, and cultural plan of development of member states, and the mentality of their population. The weakness of CELAC is its extremely loose institutionalization, whereby the taken decisions are simply not implemented at the national level Гаврилова Н.В. (ред.). Зовнішня політика країн Латинської Америки: навчальний посібник. Маріуполь: МДУ, 2020. C. 38..

Thus, CELAC was unable to solve the key problems of Latin American integration and overcome the fragmentation of Latin American regionalism. At the same time, although the organization went through a crisis during the studied period, it has not completely lost its potential. Attempts to develop a multilateral approach for solving acute regional problems based on CELAC may be evidence of another step towards Latin American integration and the readiness of the countries of the region to intensify their influence on international processes.

In recent years, we have observed the intensification of CELAC's international activities, which is aimed, first of all, at establishing mutually beneficial and partnership relations with the key actors of world politics and economy - the EU, the USA, and China. But Russia's aggression towards Ukraine, its desire for self-isolation, the sanctions of the Western world, and the condemnation of aggression by the UN - all this pushes the Caribbean countries away from Russia, although it does not completely negate their cooperation.

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