Belize Concludes Pro-Tempore Presidency of SICA, Offers Support to Incoming El Salvador

Belize had held the pro-tempore presidency for the past six months.  According to Prime Minister John Briceno, they have achieved a lot in the past few months, and will lend support to El Salvador as they begin their 6-month term on July 1.

Hon. John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “Through support from SICA member states, Belize is on its way to becoming one of several hosts for a regional climate action transparency hub consolidating its position as a leader on climate change issues. Belize capitalized on its tenure as PPT with a full week of initiatives based on a theme of restoration extending its reach beyond the immediate SICA region. Joint meetings were held on the 20 by 20 initiative, Bond Challenge and AFOLU 2040 on restoration of degraded lands in Latin America. During these meetings, the cross-sectoral nature of agriculture and environment was discussed, as well as the challenges by member states in achieving AFO-LU 2040 objectives. The ministerial meetings brought together SICA ministers of environment and agriculture as well as ministers from Mexico and South America, who shared experiences on the initiatives in place for the restoration and areas of support required to meet the goal of the 20 by 20 initiative, the Bond challenge, and the UN decade. Under CCAD we established a South-South cooperation with Panama in which Belize will develop a monitoring system to track progress of its restoration target of 130,000 hectares. With time we expect to borrow some of the lessons learned from Panama and Honduras in enhancing forest traceability monitoring systems across the region. Many activities were conducted during our PPT. Together with the support of the SICA membership, the diligence of the CCAD and the Beliz team, we were able to scale up in this important pillar of SICA. We look forward to supporting El Salvador in maintaining the momentum in the months to come. One other important aspect of our work I wish to highlight is migration. Migrants from Central America heading towards the north and elsewhere in search of safety, security and a better life has long been and continues to be a challenge for our region.”