Dialogue between the Pacific Alliance and Poland

November 7, 2022.- The ambassadors of the Pacific Alliance in Poland held a working meeting at the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, five state agencies in economic and commercial matters, and two chambers of commerce, with a view to intensify exchanges.

In the meeting, Aleksander Siemaszko, Deputy Director of the Department for Trade and International Cooperation of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, highlighted that the resumption of this dialogue is an opportunity to advance in the internationalization of Polish companies beyond the European Union.

On the other hand, the Pacific Alliance was presented in general, as well as the cooperation projects with Observer States that were presented at the IV PA Cooperation Forum.

The attendees agreed to follow up on specific projects of mutual interest, including topics such as the digital transition of SMEs and academic cooperation.

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With the participation of more than 200,000 people, the VII Pacific Alliance Youth Meeting took place in Mexico

October 22, 2022.- On October 20, the VII Pacific Alliance Youth Meeting was inaugurated in Mexico City, under the theme CREATORS OF CHANGE. The forum, organized by Nestlé, in cooperation with the PA, facilitates the space for dialogue and exchange of experiences and seeks to increase cooperation and job placement, in order to contribute to the productivity and competitiveness of the four countries.

On this occasion, for the first time, the Youth Meeting is being held in a hybrid format, with the participation of more than 200,000 young people from different countries.

Representatives of the High Level Group of the four member countries participated in the inauguration. José Miguel Ahumada, Undersecretary of International Economic Relations of Chile, invited young people not to fear failing and always act consistently, regardless of adversity. He also stressed that people’s spirit of curiosity brings the necessary changes to society.

Marcelo Ebrard, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, pointed out that “investing in young people, listening to young people, trusting young people is the best thing we can do.” The Mexican Foreign Minister added that “the Pacific Alliance is strong, because it has a common vision, and part of that vision, an important dimension, is listening to young people” because that is what gives it strength and vitality.

Likewise, Ana Cecilia Gervasi Díaz, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, invited young people to be persevering and optimistic. On behalf of Colombia, the Minister of Commerce, Germán Umaña, participated.

During the second day of activities, among others, the panel “International mobility: the young route” was held in order to publicize the student mobility opportunities offered by the PA countries within the framework of their scholarship program. #JóvenesCREA

The Meeting has been held since 2016 in the Pacific Alliance, as a result of Nestlé’s global program “Initiative for Youth”, with the aim of strengthening this cooperation to promote employability, mobility and provide tools for young people.

Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on MRV of the Pacific Alliance meets with the Vice Minister of the Environment of Peru

October 21, 2022.- The Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (SGT-MRV) of the Pacific Alliance, represented by Francisco Pinto, met with the Vice Minister of Strategic Development of Natural Resources, Fey Silva, and the Director of Climate Change and Desertification, Milagros Sandoval, of the Ministry of the Environment of Peru. The bilateral meeting was aimed to highlight:

  • The scope and opportunities offered to Peru by the second stage of development of the SGT-MRV (2022-2026)

  • The transfer of the Secretariat of the SGT-MRV from MINAMBIENTE (Colombia) to MINAM (Peru), after the next Summit of Presidents of the Pacific Alliance.

  • Coordinate the fifth face-to-face meeting of the SGT-MRV that will take place in Lima on December 12, 13 and 14.

  • Highlight the new contribution from Canada and the potential incorporation of new partners that would support the SGT-MRV in the execution of its Coordination Framework.

The Vice Minister valued the contribution of the work of the SGT-MRV and the exchange instances that enrich the development of climate policies of the Pacific Alliance countries.

Likewise, taking advantage of the visit to MINAM, the SGT-MRV invited a Chilean expert to share his experience with the technical team of the Directorate- General of Climate Change and Desertification, regarding the challenges in the design and implementation of the first green taxes in Chile (including a carbon tax) and the compensation system that should start operating at the beginning of 2023. This exchange was leaded by the economist Rodrigo Bórquez, who was working directly on both instruments as part of the Ministry team of the Chilean Environment.

The Pacific Alliance is strengthened during the XXVI Meeting of the Pacific Alliance Council of Ministers

October 20, 2022.- The pro tempore presidency of Mexico before the Pacific Alliance held the XXVI Meeting of the Council of Ministers, made up of the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, with a view to the XVII Summit of the mechanism.

As part of the meeting, the issues of process of accession of Costa Rica and Ecuador were taken up again, during which the members of the mechanism agreed to establish preparatory working groups for the incorporation of these countries as soon as possible into the mechanism. At this juncture, the Council of Ministers received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Arnoldo André Tinoco, as well as Juan Carlos Holguín, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Julio José Prado, Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries of Ecuador to share their request to join the Pacific Alliance as Member States with full rights.

As part of the resolutions adopted, the requests of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Malta as Observer States of the mechanism were unanimously accepted.

Finally, the logistical and substantive aspects of the XVII Summit of the Pacific Alliance that Mexico will host in its capacity as pro tempore presidency, in Oaxaca, Mexico, on November 25, were reviewed.

The Pacific Alliance represents 42.9% of the Gross Domestic Product and 45% of the foreign direct investment flows received in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Google Seminar – Cybersecurity sub-working group of the Pacific Alliance’s Council of Finance Ministers

October 20, 2022.- As part of the initiatives of the Cybersecurity Sub-Working Group of the Council of Finance Ministers of the Pacific Alliance, and with the collaboration of Google, a cybersecurity seminar took place addressing relevant issues regarding its ecosystem of services in the cloud, a topic that has become very relevant in different industries in recent years, particularly the financial one.

The issue of trust that must exist in organizations to migrate their workloads to a cloud provider, and transparency to organizations and their regulators about Google Cloud practices, was highlighted. In the cloud, the concept of trust is much larger than a triad of security, privacy, and compliance. And while many organizations recognize that cloud providers can invest more in resiliency and security, build strong defenses, and offer powerful tools to ease aspects of compliance, the decision to move applications or data to the cloud ultimately comes down to trust. A cloud provider will store, process, and manage your data according to each organization’s preferences, ultimately being able to maintain control of data on infrastructure that you don’t own or manage.

The Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on MRV of the Pacific Alliance was part of the General Assembly of the Carbon Pricing of the Americas and the Climate Summit of Latin America

October 19, 2022.- Francisco Pinto, representing the Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (SGT-MRV) of the Pacific Alliance, participated in the General Assembly of Carbon Pricing of the Americas and the Latin American Climate Summit.

In the first instance, he highlighted both the start of Phase 2 of the SGT-MRV, thanks to the new technical and financial support from Canada that will last until 2026, as well as the updating of the Coordination Framework of the SGT-MRV that guides its work. Regarding the last point, Pinto pointed out that the countries of the Pacific Alliance have expressed the need to continue strengthening capacities and promoting technical exchanges in terms of MRV of carbon price instruments, since a greater deployment of these instruments is observed in the region. Additionally, there is a growing interest in better understanding the implications of Art 6 of the Paris Agreement in practice and the scope of a potential regional carbon market.

On the other hand, Francisco Pinto was part of the ‘Pacific Alliance Stock-Take: Regional Climate Collaboration Across Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico’ event that took place at the Latin American Climate Summit organized by the International Emission Trading Assosiation (IETA), International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). In the session, moderated by Víctor Ortíz, ICAP Senior Consultant, he shared a panel with Francisco Ocampo, Executive Director of Asocarbono (Colombia) and Juan Pedro Searle, Head of Climate Change of the Chilean Ministry of Energy.

He highlighted:

  • The configuration and consolidation of a community of practice and exchange of experiences around MRV issues at the level of the Pacific Alliance.

  • The virtues of exchange with other countries in the region and with West African countries under a South-South collaboration scheme, and

  • The generation of reports and studies on MRV that account for the status of the countries and highlight successful experiences in specific implementations, which are available in the SGT-MRV section on the website of the Pacific Alliance:

https://alianzapacifico.net/grupotecnico-medio-ambiente/#tab_subgrupo-medici%C3%B3n,-reporte-y-verificaci%C3%B3n

Presence of the Pacific Alliance countries in SIAL 2022

October 19, 2022.- The Pacific Alliance countries have a strong presence at the Global Food Marketplace (Salon International de l’alimentation, SIAL), the world’s largest French professional fair in the innovation of the food processing industry. SIAL visitors will have access to the best products of the Pacific Alliance, the result of best practices in the agri-food sector.

Chile

The Chilean food industry arrives strongly at the new edition of SIAL to reaffirm its commitments and defend its position on the international stage. Chile, the world’s leading exporter of products such as plums, dehydrated apples, walnuts and salmon, presents its progress and ambitions for the sustainable transformation of its food sector.

By highlighting a selection of exclusive products obtained from production that respects the environment, Chile wants to make its plot of land known and demonstrate that responsible consumption can also include products from the most remote places on the planet. With 33 companies distributed in 3 pavilions and covering 614 square meters, Chile will be present with a variety of products of origin, gourmet, delicatessen, dried and dehydrated fruits and meat products.

Colombia

At SIAL 2022, Colombia presents 11 companies of nuts, vegetable flours, processed fruits, IQF frozen avocado, beverages, healthy snacks and meats in its two pavilions. Colombia is recognized as a supplier by being the world’s leading producer and exporter of mild coffee, the world’s second largest producer of avocado (including all varieties), and the world’s leading exporter of fresh tilapia. Also, the country has more than 400 varieties of fruit. Colombia is called to be one of the world’s food pantries, according to the FAO.

The agro-industrial sector represents 51% of Colombian non-mining-energy exports to the world. Europe is positioned as the second destination for these exports, which are concentrated mainly in the following sectors: green coffee, fresh flowers, bananas, palm oil, coffee derivatives and fresh fruits. Additionally, in Colombia, producers and exporters are committed to sustainability, betting on certifications such as Rainforest Alliance, Global G.A.P., Fairtrade, Organic, Fair for Life, among others.

Mexico

The Mexican agri-food industry, committed to sustainable production practices, is present at SIAL with 44 companies, present in the gourmet, fruit and vegetable, beverage and organic products sector. World agri-food leader in beer, avocado, tequila, tomato, cookies, asparagus and squash, and the third country with the largest number of certified organic producers, Mexico is synonymous with quality, authenticity and innovation.

Mexico is the 11th largest agricultural producer in the world and the seventh largest exporter of agricultural products thanks to its extensive network of trade agreements and high sanitary standards. Mexico presents top quality products at SIAL, such as flour and vegetable oils, healthy snacks, agave insulin, tequila, alcoholic beverages, meat products (chilorio, machaca), citrus derivatives, vanilla, sauces, chia, 100% virgin avocado oil, natural sweeteners, honey, grains, among others.

Peru

At SIAL 2022, Peru celebrates its position as the 9th world supplier of fruit and among the largest in the world of healthy foods such as quinoa and blueberries, products in which Peru leads world exports. In this edition, Peru will show its novelties and the best of its exportable offer through the 39 co-exhibitor companies, in a total of 473 m2 distributed in the fine food and frozen pavilions.

Andean grains stand out, such as quinoa, kiwicha, chia, beans, dehydrated products based on mango, ginger, aguaymanto; SUPERFOODS products such as maca, camu camu, sacha inchi, purple corn, turmeric, cocoa powder and nibs, lucuma as well as a range of fruit and frozen juice products made from asparagus, avocado, mango, strawberries, pomegranate, pineapples, pitahaya, among others. Peru is the world’s leading exporter of blueberries, quinoa, asparagus, and organic and fair trade coffee.

The Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on MRV of the Pacific Alliance (SGT-MRV) participates in the twentieth session of the Council of the Chile-Canada Commission for Environmental Cooperation

October 12, 2022.- The Coordination of the Technical Subgroup on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of the Pacific Alliance (SGT-MRV), through one of its representatives, Francisco Pinto, was invited to participate in the public session of the Council of the Chile-Canada Commission for Environmental Cooperation, held in Santiago de Chile.

The session included a master lecture on ‘Carbon pricing: one of the most effective and profitable tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean innovation’, given by Juan Pedro Searle, Head of Climate Change, Division of Energy and Environmental Studies and Policy of the Ministry of Energy of Chile and a presentation on ‘Carbon Pricing and Atmospheric Science’ by David Levy, member of the Joint Public Advisory Committee. The session had a broad panel discussion that included a representative from the Academy, Rodrigo Palma, Director of the Energy Center of the University of Chile; a representative from the private sector: Ana Lía Rojas, Executive Director of the Chilean Association of Renewable Energies and Storage, ACERA A.G.; a representative of civil society, Carolina Urmeneta, Director of the Circular Economy Program, Global Methane Hub, and; a representative from the regional perspective: Francisco Pinto, Coordinator of the Technical Subgroup on Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of the Pacific Alliance.

Addressing the regional perspective, and given the context of the session led by the governments of Chile and Canada, Francisco Pinto highlighted:

  • Canada’s new technical and financial support package for the Pacific Alliance countries for CAD$4.5 million to strengthen their climate measurement, reporting and verification systems over the next four years (2022-2026).

  • The recent experience and the challenges faced by Chile, Colombia and Mexico in the implementation of their first carbon price instruments, as well as Peru’s interest moving forward in the same lines.

  • The constant interest of the countries of the Pacific Alliance to improve and sophisticate their measurement, reporting and verification systems associated with carbon price instruments, which are explicitly established in the coordination framework that guides the work and goals of the SGT- MRV.

In the following links you will find the inputs of the Public Session:

  • Public Session Agenda – CCAEC

  • Agenda – CCAEC – 20th Council Session – Public Session

  • Master Lecture “Carbon price: one of the most effective and profitable tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean innovation”

  • JPAC Presentation “Carbon Pricing and Atmospheric Science”

Open registrations: Pacific Alliance advances in the formation of the Women’s Network of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture

  • The initiative, which is initially carried out through the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) of the Government of Chile, will allow the creation of an information center.

October 12, 2022.- The countries of the Pacific Alliance, through the Government of Chile’s Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) are currently advancing in the creation of a Network of Women in Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Pacific Alliance that makes visible the role of women from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, in these activities.

Initially, it seeks to establish an information center to provide news and novelties to registered women, on the advances and activities in the field of fishing and aquaculture with a gender focus and equality.

The registration period expires on October 24, 2022 and can be done at the following link: https://bit.ly/3fRdHC4

It is important to note that the Pacific Alliance is an economic and development initiative between four Latin American nations: Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Since her creation to date, the Alliance has become the axis of a new way of doing business on the continent. The PA is a mechanism for political and economic cooperation and integration that seeks to find a space to promote greater growth and greater competitiveness of the four economies that comprise it.

Meeting of the Pacific Alliance and Italy with the «LUISS» University

October 6, 2022.- In Rome, on October 4, the “Meeting on the Pacific Alliance and Cooperation with Italy” was held, virtually and in person, at the headquarters of the prestigious Italian study center “Free International University of Social Studies, Guido Carli” (LUISS). Representatives from the embassies of the PA member countries accredited in Rome participated in the event.

The rector of the university, Andrea Prencipe, expressed the opportunity that it represents for that institution to establish a collaboration network on various topics with universities in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; as well as the intention to carry out this seminar on an annual basis. On behalf of the Pacific Alliance, the priorities and objectives of the pro tempore presidency of Mexico were presented, as well as the perspectives of cooperation with Italy.

Marco Giomini, head of the office for Mexico of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ratified the interest in continuing to strengthen collaboration with the Pacific Alliance. The general secretary of the Italo-Latin American Institute, Antonella Cavallari, suggested promoting cooperation between that organization and the AP in the area of ​​SMEs and green economies.

The meeting was followed by an exchange between academics from the five countries and a work session.

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