Region's foreign trade was affected by recession in Europe and slower growth in the United States and China.

Both regions should adjust their strategies and policies to make use of the growing South-South trade potential, according to Antonio Prado, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Commission.

"Over the past quarter-century, the world has become more drought-prone, and droughts are projected to become more widespread, intense and frequent as a result of climate change", says the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon.

Antonio Prado, Deputy Executive Secretary of this United Nations Commission, took part in the first China-Latin American and the Caribbean Forum of Ministers of Agriculture in the Chinese capital.

Latin America and the Caribbean faces the challenge of efficiently investing extraordinary revenue from the current price cycle with social and environmental sustainability.

There is cautious optimism around labour market trends, although the fall in unemployment is expected to be smaller than the drop observed in 2012.

At the same time, the United Nations agency also indicated that the profits of transnational enterprises operating in Latin America and the Caribbean have risen fivefold in the past decade.
Watch the video of the press conference.
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Region will be boosted by buoyant internal demand and the recovery in Argentina and Brazil.

Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of ECLAC, and Luis Almagro, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay, signed an agreement.

The rise in wages has been a determining factor in poverty reduction, according to the United Nations agency.
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Watch video "Social Panorama of Latin America 2012"