Officials from 30 countries of East Asia and Latin America are expecting to forge a stronger partnership between members of the Forum for East Asia-Latin America (FEALAC) and proactively influence global development. 

"I believe that the Forum's greater worth lies in the opportunity that it affords us to exchange views on important global issues and develop friendship so necessary in a fast moving world," said Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Delia Albert, co-chair of the Second Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the FEALAC, at the opening ceremony in Manila Friday.

She said as an emerging intergovernmental entity, FEALAC plays an inestimable role in a constantly evolving international system faced by a variety of challenges.

"It is our task to examine how FEALAC can be more meaningful and relevant in this broader community. We can inspire our officials in other fora, so that they may develop and nurture a FEALAC consciousness," she added.

Albert said the forum should explore the feasibility of a regular dialogue among FEALAC delegations to the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, and other relevant fora, adding that it can forge a stronger partnership between the more economically developed and the developing members to make a positive, more decisive impact in other fora.

"Through more active dialogue, through enhanced bilateral cooperation, through more concerted effort in multilateral fora, we can proactively influence global development," she added.

Albert also welcomed Guatemala and Nicaragua which will join the forum to enrich its idea generation, concept formulation and action orientation.

In a speech at the ceremony, Colombian Minister of Foreign Relations Carolina Barco Isakson, also Co-Chair of the meeting, noted that security and stability should be among the highest priorities of the forum, adding that the group is encouraged by the interests and recognition that the forum has achieved in political terms and should now concentrate efforts on the definition of an agenda to guide actions in the promotion of cooperation.  

The first Foreign Ministers' meeting of the FEALAC was held in Santiago, Chile in March, 2001, which approved the framework document of the forum to stipulate the principles, purposes and standards to guide the forum's future development. 

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2004)