Leonel Fernández Takes Office as New President of EU-LAC Foundation

The event was marked by a meeting with Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa.

GFDD/Funglode president Dr. Leonel Fernández took office as the new president of the European Union–Latin America and Caribbean (EU-LAC) Foundation last week, a position to which he was elected this past August by the 33 countries that make up the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.

As part of the Foundation’s agenda in the
Ecuadorian capital, Fernández, the former president of the Dominican Republic, held a work meeting with Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, with whom he reviewed various aspects of current affairs in both the region and the world.

Fernández’s inauguration as the new president of EU-LAC took place during the eighth meeting of the Foundation’s Executive Board, held at the Ministry of Foreign Relations and Human Mobility of the Republic of
Ecuador. In the same ceremony, Paola Amadei, head of the European Union delegation in Jamaica, was inaugurated as the new EU-LAC Executive Director.

Fernández was presented by Fernando Yepes Lasso, subsecretary for North America and Europe, while Paola Amadei was introduced by Roland Schaefe, Americas director of the European External Action Service.

During his statement, Yepez Lasso highlighted the qualities that qualify Dr. Fernández for the important
international position to which he has been named.

The diplomat noted that Fernández, besides being a great statesman, has become a global citizen committed to the overarching values of democracy and peaceful coexistence between nations.

In the same vein, Yepez Lasso expressed his certainty that Fernández will put all his talent and state experience into the service of achieving the aims of the EU-LAC Foundation.

For his part,
Fernández expressed his gratitude for the confidence bestowed on him and committed to give his utmost to avoid disappointing the nations that deemed him the ideal person to guide EU-LAC at its present juncture.

In his speech, Fernández offered words of praise for the Costa Rican government which, upon learning he had been proposed for the position, withdrew its own candidacy. He saw in Costa Rica’s attitude a gesture of solidarity and cordiality toward the
Dominican Republic.

At another point in his discussion, Fernández affirmed that the creation of the EU-LAC Foundation marked the start of the building of a new paradigm for international relations. “The fact that we can have a link between Latin America and Europe is an enriching experience,” he noted, after committing to focusing his efforts on meeting the high expectations of his office.

The meeting also included the participation
of Dominicans Alejandra Liriano, vice-minister of Foreign Relations, and Alejandro González Pons, Dominican ambassador to Belgium, whom Fernández praised for the role both have played in positioning the Dominican Republic on the international scene.

Meeting with Rafael Correa
Fernández’s meeting with president Rafael Correa was held in the presidential office of the Ecuador’s Ministry of Sport.

The
meeting between Fernández and Correa also included the participation of Ecuador’s minister of Foreign Relations, Ricardo Patiño.

The EU-LAC Foundation was created in 2010 and commenced operations in 2011, with the aim of transforming the strategic relationship between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean into a strong, visible reality between the countries and regions of each area. The organization is based in Hamburg,
Germany.