The Council of Ministers of the Pacific alliance met this Wednesday in Santiago de Chile to promote integration projects and explore new avenues of political and economic cooperation at the regional level.
According to a statement released by the Chilean Foreign Ministry, in this first of two days, representatives from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru addressed the launch of the platform Digital AP for SMEs and signed the Decision that approves the Work Plan of the Cooperation Fund 2024.
Likewise, they discussed trade negotiations, technical mandates and finalized the details for the ceremony for the transfer of the pro tempore Presidency from Peru to Chile.
“From Chile, I want to reiterate the commitment that our country has to the Pacific Alliance and point out that President Gabriel Boric shares that commitment. For us the Pacific alliance It is a strategic axis in our foreign policy and also in our trade policy. We believe that this is a process with great potential and we want it to become a benchmark for integration in Latin America.“said the head of Chilean diplomacy, Alberto van Klaveren.
Along the same lines, the Chilean Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, highlighted that “Chile is fully committed to the region and to advance in all the spaces for multilateral dialogue that we have and that are possible.”.
“We have great challenges at the global and regional level, and the Pacific Alliance is a priority because it is an integration mechanism, not only economic, but also of our peoples. So we hope to make substantial progress on our agenda.“, he claimed.
The Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier González-Olaechea, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Teresa Mera, also participated in this first day; the Colombian Vice Minister of Commerce and Tourism, Luis Felipe Quinteros, (virtually), the Director of Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Economy of Mexico, José Vicente Peredo.
In parallel, the High Level Group (GAN), a body made up of the vice ministers of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the AP, met.
According to the statement, at this meeting the accession procedure was reviewed and the topics for the subsequent meeting of the Council of Ministers were prepared.
In addition, the report of the Student and Academic Mobility Platform was received, and support was expressed for the Work Plan of the Cooperation Fund for its approval as a Decision of the Council of Ministers.
They also analyzed the report of the representative of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Rodrigo Contreras, who detailed the progress of the joint work and presented the AP Digital Platform -created in conjunction with the IDB-, and which is expected to become a space where MSMEs in the region can learn about the information, tools and activities offered by the Pacific Alliance, and connect with other companies from the countries of the bloc.
Likewise, they listened to representatives of the AP Business Council (CEAP) who gave an account of the different actions and work plans that they are developing to support companies in the region.
The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, established in Lima on April 28, 2011 and formalized with the signing of the Framework Agreement on June 6, 2012 in Cerro Paranal, Antofagasta.
Its main objectives include building an integration area to progressively advance towards the free circulation of goods, services, capital and people, promoting greater growth, development and competitiveness of its Member States.
Source: Gestion
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