ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance emphasized their commitment to forge stronger ties between the two regional mechanisms during the 6^th ASEAN-Pacific Alliance Ministerial Meeting held on 28 September 2019 on the sidelines of the 74^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, USA. The Meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Prak Sokhonn, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Cambodia, and H.E. Mr. Teodoro Ribera Neumann, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile.

The Ministers noted the recent developments in ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance, including the outcomes of the 52^nd ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings, the 34^th ASEAN Summit as well as the 14^th Pacific Alliance Summit. The Ministers took note of the key priorities of the Pacific Alliance Pro-Tempore Presidency which are reflected in the Lima Declaration signed in July 2019. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of strengthening the cooperation through, inter alia, ministerial meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA in order to boost relations as well as to develop initiatives in dealing with regional and global issues for the benefits of the two regions.

Cognizant of global challenges such as an increase in protectionist measures, effects of climate change and the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among others, the Ministers emphasized that countries and regions should cooperate and share best practices that support resilience and innovation in the Asia-Pacific. They also stressed the importance of promoting free trade and reaffirmed support for the open, rules-based multilateral trading system as embodied by the World Trade Organization as well as stressed the importance of supporting Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprises since they play a significant role in both ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance.

The Ministers reviewed the implementation of the ASEAN-Pacific Alliance Work Plan (2017-2019), welcomed its extension for another year to December 2020 and agreed to expedite its implementation. While recognizing the existing four areas within the ASEAN-PA Framework of Cooperation that was adopted in 2016. Likewise, the Ministers underscored the importance of expanding cooperation to cover areas of mutual interests such as trade facilitation, smart cities, digital economy, disaster management, renewable energy, connectivity, addressing climate change, and combating plastic debris. Towards this end, the Ministers tasked officials to look into the development of a new Work Plan.

The Ministers recognized the importance to enhance efforts to achieve greater connectivity between the two regions via trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges. In this regard, the Ministers encouraged utilizing technology such as video conferencing to increase contacts between both sides.

The Ministers extended their warmest congratulations to the Philippines for being conferred the status of Observer State of the Pacific Alliance at the 14^th Pacific Alliance Summit held in Lima in July this year, joining Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand.ASEAN Ministers also congratulated Chile for its upcoming hosting of the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in December this year. Similarly, they welcomed Chile as the newest Development Partner of ASEAN and the accession of Peru to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).

New York, 28 September 2019

Con la presencia de los Embajadores de Chile, Gustavo Ayares, y de México, Armando Álvarez; así como de los Encargados de Negocios de Colombia, Nelsy Munar, y del Perú, Carlos del Castillo, acreditados en Indonesia, se realizó en Yakarta el evento de clausura de la primera edición del Curso de Español para Diplomáticos de la Asociación de Naciones del Sudeste Asiático (ASEAN) ofrecido por la Alianza del Pacífico (AP), como parte del Plan de Trabajo 2017-2019 vigente entre ambos mecanismos.

Durante tres meses, 43 diplomáticos y oficiales de los países miembros de ASEAN, así como de su Secretaría, participaron de este intensivo curso, que  complementaron con actividades de cocina y cine en español.

Por un acuerdo entre los países de la Alianza del Pacífico, la primera edición del curso estuvo liderada por el Gobierno de Colombia, el cual seleccionó a la Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana de Medellín a fin de garantizar la excelencia del programa.

Durante el acto de clausura, se entregó certificados de asistencia a los estudiantes y se anunció al ganador de un viaje de intercambio cultural a Colombia, por iniciativa de la Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Finalizado el evento, los asistentes disfrutaron de platillos y bebidas típicas de los países de la Alianza del Pacífico y de una canción en idioma español a cargo de los beneficiarios del programa.

Adicionalmente, se recordó a los asistentes que los interesados en continuar con el aprendizaje del idioma español en el marco de la cooperación Alianza del Pacífico – ASEAN pueden hacerlo a través de las becas anuales para diplomáticos de ASEAN que ofrece la academia diplomática mexicana.

Cabe señalar que la implementación de esta exitosa iniciativa tiene como objetivo fortalecer el contacto persona a persona, así como fomentar el entendimiento mutuo, el diálogo político y la cooperación entre ambas regiones.

Desde el 2016, la AP y ASEAN acordaron desarrollar acciones concretas en cuatro áreas prioritarias  de interés común: cooperación económica; educación y contacto persona a persona; ciencia, tecnología e innovación; y, desarrollo sostenible.

Fundada en 1967, la ASEAN incluye a Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malasia, Myanmar, Laos, Singapur, Tailandia, Filipinas y Vietnam. La economía de ese bloque es considerada la tercera mayor de Asia y la sexta en el mundo, con un PIB de alrededor de 3 billones de dólares. Por su parte, la Alianza del Pacífico representa la octava a nivel mundial, cuyo PIB acumulado representa el 40% del de América Latina y el Caribe.