An important geographical focus of the event was cooperation between the EU and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Ambassador Rupel participated in a high-level panel discussion on strengthening regulatory coherence between the two regions and later took part in a working meeting intended to shape the next steps towards EU-LAC partnership in the field of artificial intelligence. He outlined Slovenia’s experience in strengthening the national framework for the development and use of AI, including Slovenian initiatives as part of cooperation with the LAC region.

The Ambassador emphasised that during its EU Council Presidency in 2021, Slovenia actively supported the launch of the Digital for Development ("D4D") Hub for the LAC region, aimed at developing new initiatives and strengthening cooperation with the region in the field of digitalisation. Slovenia also supported the establishment of a working group on AI within the D4D Platform, which it co-chairs with Spain. In December 2022, Slovenia and Spain, together with the European Commission and the D4D Platform, organised the High-level Dialogue on Digitalisation. Since then, the two countries have developed an initiative to strengthen EU-LAC cooperation in the field of AI, which is currently being discussed with the LAC region. The initiative includes four pillars for possible future cooperation, which will also be discussed in Colombia at the first EU-LAC dialogue on AI, on 27 November 2023.