The President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado, held this week a series of bilateral meetings in which issues such as climate change and post-pandemic economies were analyzed, which position Costa Rica as a strategic country and at the forefront of the modern world agenda.
“These meetings seek to strengthen the relationship with sister countries worldwide that recognize our nation as a key country and at the forefront of issues that are on the table throughout the world,” said the Costa Rican leader.
In the bilateral meetings, the president was accompanied by the foreign minister, Rodolfo Solano; and the ambassador and permanent representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations in New York, Rodrigo A. Carazo.
Here is a review of the meetings that President Alvarado held:
President of the European Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen
The president spoke about the imperative of commitment to climate change and financing to carry out this agenda. “If the largest economies do not commit themselves there will not be a real change, this requires everyone from the world,” said the Costa Rican leader.
Likewise, Von Der Leyen and Alvarado exchanged opinions on the deterioration caused in the economy by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, social demands, climate change and natural disasters. In this context, President Alvarado referred to the proposal of the “Fund to Alleviate COVID-19 Economics – FACE), as an option to remedy post-pandemic finances. This is an initiative presented by Costa Rica on September 25 of the previous year at the United Nations.
President of Croatia, Zoran Milanović
With his Croatian counterpart, Alvarado talked about the COVID-19 situation and how Costa Rica has dealt with it with the solid universal health system that our country has.
High Commissioner for Refugees of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Filippo Grandi celebrated Costa Rica’s willingness to host the 48 Afghan women, as a sign of the commitment assumed with the United Nations Population Fund. As a result of this meeting this Monday between Alvarado and Grandi, ties with the United Nations will be further strengthened to create safe routes for fleeing women and children.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley
With the ruler of Barbados, President Alvarado reiterated Costa Rica’s call to all countries to make commitments to accelerate energetic actions against climate change. As small countries, Mottley and Alvarado spoke of joining forces and making changes, of using art and culture as allies to mobilize people on environmental issues.
President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani
The president of Kosovo mentioned feeling flattered by Costa Rica, since it was one of the first countries to recognize Kosovo as a country in 2018. In their bilateral meeting they discussed the history of our country, its bicentennial of independence and the abolition of its army .
Austrian President
Alexander Van Der Bellen congratulated Costa Rica for being a shining example in the region and for joining the OECD. President Alvarado again extended the invitation to visit Costa Rica, since due to the pandemic the visit to Costa Rican soil had to be canceled.
Prime Minister of Sweden, Stefan Löfven
Finally, as part of the event “Unlock the Future: Building the Coalition for Young People and Future Generations”, Alvarado held a meeting with the Swedish Prime Minister, with whom he talked about strengthening relations and respect for human rights that unites both nations , as well as the importance of working bilaterally as regions, taking advantage of Costa Rica’s leadership from SICA and also as pro tempore presidency of ECLAC.
