- Diverse stakeholders will participate in the ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development, which will take place at ECLAC’s central headquarters in Santiago.
NEW YORK, USA – Latin American and Caribbean countries’ annual gathering to evaluate regional progress and challenges in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will take place on April 13-16, 2026, at the headquarters of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in Santiago, Chile.
Four years before the deadline for achieving the 2030 Agenda, ministers, deputy ministers, undersecretaries and other government authorities – along with representatives of the United Nations system, regional organizations, development banks, parliaments, academia, the private sector and civil society – will participate in a series of dialogues on global, regional and national action at the ninth meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development.
The opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, April 14, from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. local time in Chile (GMT-4), with the participation of José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, ECLAC’s executive secretary; Jorge Félix Rubio, director-general for economic affairs at the ministry of foreign affairs of Peru, the country that is serving as Chair of the Forum; and Li Junhua, the under secretary-general for economic and social affairs of the United Nations.
ECLAC’s highest authority will present, on that very same Tuesday (April 14) at 2:30 p.m. local time in Chile, a document entitled The 2030 Agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean: Accelerating Implementation in a New Era of Uncertainty and Geopolitical Fragmentation, ninth report on regional progress and challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In the dialogues on global action, the region’s countries will examine the international commitments adopted in 2025 with regard to financing for development, climate change and social development, and will report on preparations for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference (United Arab Emirates, December 2-4).
In the dialogues on regional action, using the ninth report as context, the representatives will analyze in depth the extent of implementation on five of the 2030 Agenda Goals: SDG 6: Clean water and sanitation; SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy; SDG 9: Industry, innovation and infrastructure; SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities; and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
Finally, in the dialogues on national action, attendees will exchange successful national experiences in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs, along with good practices and challenges in the preparation of the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) that countries will present at the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (New York, July 7-15, 2026).
On Monday, April 13, prior to the official inauguration of the gathering in Santiago, three important events will take place: the Forum of Children, Adolescents and Youth of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Meeting of the Mechanism for Civil Society Participation and the Interfaith Forum of the Ninth Meeting of the Forum of the Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on Sustainable Development. In addition, at least 46 side events are scheduled to be held.
