11 March 2013: The Caribbean Forum on “Shaping a sustainable development agenda to address the Caribbean reality in the 21st century” took place in Bogota, Colombia, on 5-6 March 2013, and concluded with participants adopting conclusions on priority areas as well as guidelines on how to continue working toward development in the Caribbean.

The meeting was organized by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Colombia.

Over 50 participants, including representatives from Caribbean states, international, regional and subregional organizations, and civil society, attended the Forum, where they discussed issues of importance to sustainable development in the sub-region and preparations for the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to be held in Samoa in 2014.

Discussions addressed, inter alia, the need to: eradicate poverty; address Caribbean countries’ vulnerability to climate change; improve health services; and diminish violence. In addition, participants discussed the need to increase financial flows from and into the region, with many stressing that most Caribbean countries are considered middle-income countries, and therefore cannot receive certain types of development assistance. The role of the private sector, banking and new sources of development were emphasized in this regard.

The adopted conclusions are expected to inform an agenda for future discussions to bring to the Third International Conference on SIDS, as well as a road map to address sustainable development in the sub-region that could be integrated into the agenda at the regional level as a contribution to the post-2015 development agenda. [IISD RS Coverage of the Meeting] [ECLAC Website for Meeting]