“When we were in Brussels we saw the great differences between technological development between the regions; however, we must recognize that our lag is undoubted, we must recognize that we still have a lot to do in the matter,” Ruiz declared in front of other ministers of science and education.
“And I believe that for each of us as countries to advance, we must be aware that each country alone will not be able to advance to the extent that the Latin American region requires,” he added.
Gathered in Cuernavaca, Morelos, last Friday, within the framework of the Science and Technology in Society Forum (STS Forum) 2025, the ministers of Brazil, Paraguay, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Chile, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico spoke about the regional challenges that urgently need to be addressed, such as climate change, environmental sustainability and the energy transition, in addition to advancing on health issues and Artificial Intelligence applied to science.
Secretary Ruiz proposed to establish working groups so that in an upcoming meeting they design a regional agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean that will later be presented to the European Union.
“So that we all work together, discuss these issues and, I insist, develop a multinational agenda for the region,” he declared.
“We have made important progress, (…) but we must get more sectors, such as the private sector, involved to achieve greater achievements and reduce the lags of Latin America and the Caribbean with respect to Europe, the United States and other more advanced regions,” he stressed.
They also consider training “enablers” for cooperation in research, innovation, researcher mobility and infrastructure.
