Mexico City, December 1 (RHC)-- Mexico's Undersecretary for Latin America Maximiliano Reyes has announced that his country presented to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) a work agenda for next year, as Mexico assumes this multilateral organization's pro tempore presidency​​​​​​ in 2020.

"We shared this morning with the CELAC ambassadors the proposals of Mexico for its pro tempore presidency," Reyes said.  Mexico will seek to strengthen this integration mechanism so that its 33 member countries can defend the region's true interests as well as foster dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

On November 11, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) considers it important to maintain the vitality of the functioning of this multilateral agency.

Since its creation, CELAC has assumed as its main objective the defense of peace in Latin America. The initial idea for the constitution of this intergovernmental mechanism emerged during the Latin America and Caribbean Unity Summit, which was held in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in February 2010.

A year later, CELAC was formally established at the Caracas Summit and held its first official meeting in Chile in January 2013.   Later, Cuba assumed the CELAC presidency in 2014 and began an active promotion of a "peace zone" for the region, which was agreed during the Second CELAC Summit held in Havana.

Bolivia held the 2019 pro tempore presidency until the coup d'etat against President Evo Morales on November 10th.