Mexico to attend 1st China-CELAC Forum ministerial meeting

Mexico's Minister of Tourism Claudia Ruiz Massieu will take part in the first ministerial meeting on cooperation between China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), to be held in Beijing on Jan. 8-9.

Ruiz Massieu is going on behalf of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, the Tourism Ministry (Sectur) announced Wednesday in a press release.

Heads of state and cabinet-level envoys from some 30 Latin American countries will attend the China-CELAC Forum, designed to boost cooperation between the Asian giant and the region.

According to Sectur, each country will have the opportunity to share its experiences with the others at two scheduled plenary sessions.

The forum, said Sectur, will benefit development in Latin America and the Caribbean, by promoting multilateral ties and understanding on important global matters, and finding solutions to common problems.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to inaugurate the high- level event, to be attended by Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis, Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa Delgado, Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros, and host a dinner reception for the heads of the various delegations.

The forum is expected to conclude with the Beijing Declaration, a 2015-2019 China-CELAC Plan of Cooperation, and internal regulations for the forum.

Ministers are to agree on holding a forum every three years, alternating between China and Latin America.

The China-CELAC Forum was proposed by Xi during his visit to Latin America in July 2014, and adopted during the 2nd CELAC Summit.

Costa Rica currently holds the rotating presidency of the 33- member Latin American bloc, and Ecuador is next in line to head the group.