LatAm agrees to create new development mechanism

Latin American nations have agreed to create a new development mechanism under the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the commission said Friday. Participating countries agreed to establish "this new subsidiary body of ECLAC to improve national policies on social development, as well as international, regional and bilateral cooperation on the matter," the UN agency said. The first meeting of the Regional Conference on Social Development with a goal to narrow the wealth gap in Latin America will take place in the second half of 2015 in Peru. ECLAC gathers 33 Latin American countries, plus 11 Asian, European and North American countries with historic ties to the region, and 12 associate members.