"First, I would like to thank you for electing me as President pro tempore of Celac for 2023. St. Vincent and the Grenadines is one of the smallest countries in this organization and we have been working over the years with Celac," Gonsalves said at the end of the plenary of the VII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the organization held in Buenos Aires.

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He said he was proud that his country was the first of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) to hold this presidency.

"We are going to work very closely with all the states," he said, noting that he would seek to "capitalize on the great work done by Mexico and Argentina," the last two countries to preside over CELAC.

Before his speech, Gonsalves greeted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula de Silva, whom he described as "the great warrior," and thanked him for the Celac initiative.

Fernández, for his part, thanked Lula "for having brought Brazil back to Celac, where it should always have been."