Mexico City, Dec 15 (IANS): Mexico has called for cooperation between the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the European Union (EU) to mitigate economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Monday, Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard, speaking on behalf of the region, urged the two sides to collaborate during a virtual Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers from the region and the EU, reports Xinhua news agency.

"In the context of the post-Covid-19 recovery, and the strong negative impact of the pandemic on societies and economies, the foreign minister called on both regions to work together to promote a wide-ranging response that safeguards social progress and promotes inclusion," Ebrard was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

He reaffirmed his interest in promoting dialogue and cooperation between the two regions, and underscored their shared values, priorities and outlooks in the face of global challenges.

In 2020-2021, Mexico holds the rotating presidency of CELAC, a regional mechanism for dialogue and consensus that gathers the 33 Latin America and Caribbean countries.

On December 3 in a speech to the UN General Assembly, Ebrard noted that the economy of Latin America and the Caribbean will contract an estimated 9 per cent this year due to the pandemic, while poverty in the region is expected to increase by almost 38 per cent.

Monday's meeting was co-chaired by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.