SANTIAGO, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Alicia Barcena concluded her term as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) on Thursday, after nearly 14 years in the post, the agency confirmed.

She will be succeeded on an interim basis by ECLAC's current Deputy Executive Secretary, Argentine economist Mario Cimoli, beginning Friday.

During a ceremony in honor of her at the ECLAC headquarters in the Chilean capital of Santiago, Barcena stated that it "has been the brightest phase of my professional career."

"For nearly 14 years, I have contributed to giving weight, influence and opportunity to the body of transformative, progressive and egalitarian convictions that distinguish ECLAC's present thinking," the Mexican official, who took office on July 1, 2008, said.

For its part, ECLAC stressed that during her tenure, Barcena guided a prolific period in which ECLAC's way of thinking was consolidated, with "a set of progressive ideas for the region that seeks to overcome the structural obstacles that have hindered deep democratic advances and the material and cultural progress of Latin America and the Caribbean."