The EU has formal Science and Technology Cooperation Agreements with four countries of the region: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mexico.
Launched in 2010, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) is now the EU’s counterpart for the bi-regional partnership process. The organisation encompasses all 33 sovereign LAC countries, representing roughly 600 million people. CELAC aims to unite all Latin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen the region's political dialogue, and social and cultural integration, improve its quality of life, stimulate economic growth, research and innovation and advance the well-being of all of its people.
The EU-LAC Joint Initiative for Research and Innovation (JIRI) was established in 2010 to promote regular bi-regional dialogue on Research & Innovation (R&I).
Building on the success of the dialogue conducted under the JIRI, the last EU-CELAC Summit in 2015 called for a strengthened framework for cooperation and moving towards a Common Research Area.
