Today, in the city of Punta Arenas, Chile, was held the meeting of the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance, composed of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of the four Pacific Alliance’s countries.

In order to advance the mandates of the Heads of State at the Summit of Paracas, Deputy Ministers examined the reports of the Technical Groups that met during the previous two days around a series of issues such as innovation, SMEs, trade facilitation, trade unique windows, technical-productive education, movement of people and cultural theme recently joined the Declaration of Paracas.

They also assessed the reports on the meeting of Presidents in New York within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly; the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Pacific Alliance with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); and the status of recommendations and proposals of the Business Council of the Pacific Alliance.

About external relations, the Deputy Ministers referred to the dialogue which was held with Portugal, the EU and the OECD. It was also agreed to continue working with the mechanism 42 observer countries, particularly regarding cooperation projects of interest to the Pacific Alliance.

In other matters, the Deputy Ministers assessed the schedule of upcoming activities of the Pacific Alliance and agreed to promote in all countries the approval and early entry into force of the Trade Protocol that most liberalized trade between the countries of the Pacific Alliance that will contribute to significantly boost its trade integration.

The countries of the Pacific Alliance represent the eighth world economy , concentrate a population of 216 million people and have an average per capita GDP of $ 16,500 .

Today, one of the most effective ways for a country to achieve its objectives strategies is through international alliances. Forming mechanisms of integration with countries with common cultural identity initiatives can build a participatory and consensual manner, in support of its participants. This is the path chosen by the Pacific Alliance, which has begun to strengthen ties of cooperation to create the conditions for growth, development and competitiveness.

The International Cervantino Festival adds to the historical agenda that Mexico has with Latin America for the establishment of projects of innovation and entrepreneurship in the arts, and this year is honored to have as guest of honor countries that are part of the Alliance Pacific.

Emblematic examples are presented at the forty-third edition of the Festival, where cultural affinity, language and even geographical location, are virtues that become a potential for intellectual and creative development as well as collective reflection and self-criticism.

Within the Festival, will be held the “Meeting of Ministers of Culture of the Pacific Alliance”, on 7 October in the city of Guanajuato, in order to strengthen ties of cooperation and integration existing well as to discuss issues related to cultural cooperation among member countries.

The recent creation of the Technical Group of Culture will promote the integration and strengthening of entrepreneurship in cultural and creative industries directly affect the economic growth of member countries, to position the identity, diversity and creativity of the citizens in this block regional. At the same time, it will be compliant with the mandate to protect, preserve, safeguard and promote the cultural heritage in all its manifestations.

As part of its participation in the 70th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Ministers of the Pacific Alliance met on Monday 28 with their counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to strengthen the link between the block with the Asia Pacific.

The first meeting took place in September 2014 at the last General Assembly of the United Nations. On that occasion a space for dialogue and mutual understanding was opened and a reflection on the possible topics and initiatives of an agenda for joint work between the Pacific Alliance and ASEAN began.

Also in May 2015 Ambassadors and Representatives of the Pacific Alliance and the Permanent Representatives Committee of ASEAN met in Jakarta, Indonesia to define the issues of the agenda of the initial work, such as energy and minerals, trade facilitation, innovation , logistics, infrastructure and SMEs.

On this occasion, the Ministers of the Pacific Alliance and ASEAN presented the advances that have obtained both integration mechanisms and agreed to promote closer economic cooperation to facilitate trade and investment flows between the two regions for mutual benefit .

In order to strengthen and implement cooperation between the two mechanisms, the ministers agreed to establish a working group composed of foreign relations of the Pacific Alliance and delegates of the Standing Committee of Representatives of ASEAN.

ASEAN is comprised of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. They are observer states of the Pacific Alliance Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.

The Presidents of the member countries of the Pacific Alliance met yesterday in New York to highlight the strength of their economies and the opportunities in trade and investment.

The event organized by the Financial Times and the Business Council of the Pacific Alliance, had among his assistants to CEOs, managers, entrepreneurs and investors interested in the Pacific Alliance.

After greeting the Executive Director of Citigroup, Michael Corbat, the President of Peru Ollanta Humala, current president pro tempore of the mechanism, said a few words of welcome which highlighted the commitment of the countries of the Pacific Alliance in the defense of the free market and the provision, a climate of legal, political and social stability to investors.

In the case of Colombia, President Juan Manuel Santos reaffirmed the commitment of the Pacific Alliance to economic growth, trade and foreign direct investment. He added that the countries of the mechanism, shared principles such as fiscal stability and clear positions on foreign investment.

President Ollanta Humala stressed the homogeneity of the economies of the four countries, which continue consolidating despite the subdued economic performance expected in Latin America. Besides betting on the free movement of capital, services and people, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are more than 41% of foreign direct investment in Latin America said the Peruvian president.

For his part, Enrique Peña Nieto, president of Mexico said that against this current scenario of volatility and fragility, the countries of the Alliance seek to generate confidence to consolidate growth. He also recalled that the four countries have the determination to move in this bold and innovative initiative that is displayed as one of the best tools to face the adverse scenario of the global economy.

Chilean President Michele Bachelet agreed with the principles outlined by their counterparts and stressed the need for social policies together with measures of healthy economic balance. On the other hand, he stressed that the Alliance countries have a high percentage of free trade agreements, however, stressed the desirability of further progress in developing intraregional trade.

The roundtable discussion was moderated by John Paul Rathbone, editor of the Financial Times and had the closing words of Andreas Von Wedemeyer, President of the Business Council of the Pacific Alliance, a body composed of employers and representative unions of the four countries.

Through its Platform for Academic and Student Mobility, the Pacific Alliance announces the launch of the VII competition for grants for the period 2016-I, with the aim of contributing to the strengthening and development of human capital in the member countries of the Alliance Pacific.

The program offers participants the opportunity to make academic exchanges in the form of undergraduate and graduate students as well as teachers and researchers in areas such as finance, tourism, economy, international trade, management and others. The scholarship winners will attend an academic semester in full-time attendance programs, they will also receive a monthly allowance to cover costs of accommodation, food, transport and health insurance, as well as exemption from academic costs in accordance with the agreements between the university and receiver.

Students and teachers interested can visit the websites of the organizations responsible for channeling grants in each country: AGCI (Chile), ICETEX (Colombia), AMEXCID (Mexico) and PRONABEC (Peru), where they will find more information on the Program, the requirements and the timing of application.

It notes that the Platform for Academic and Student Mobility is one of the first achievements of the Pacific Alliance in the field of cooperation. Currently, 855 nationals of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru have benefited from these grants and is expected to end of the year the figure exceeds 1,000 participants.

The Heads of State of Chile, Michelle Bachelet; of Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto; and Peru, Ollanta Humala, continued today in Paracas, Peru, with scheduled meetings of the Tenth Summit of the Pacific Alliance. By Colombia participated the Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin, and the Minister of Trade , Industry and Tourism Cecilia Alvarez- Correa. The meeting began with a plenary session in which the Council of Ministers discussed the progress of the mechanism since the last Summit in Punta Mita, Mexico, highlighting the issues of regulatory cooperation, trade facilitation, SMEs and Innovation, among others. Subsequently, the Heads of State in joint dialogue, highlighted the important achievements that this mechanism of integration has achieved in its four years of existence; and which are essential to boost productivity and competitiveness of the economies of the four countries. They stressed their determination to advance towards the construction of an area of ​​deep integration to materialize in a greater free movement of goods, services, capital and people.

Then, the leaders proceeded to the signing of the Declaration of Paracas, in which they highlighted the forthcoming entry into force of the Framework Agreement and the progress in the process of improvement of the Additional Protocol and the Agreement Establishing the Cooperation Fund. They expressed their willingness to continue strengthening the bonds of cooperation with the observer states that from this Summit total 42. The 10 new observer states are: Austria, Denmark, Georgia, Greece, Haiti, Hungary, Indonesia, Poland, Sweden and Thailand. With the Declaration of Paracas it was also established the firm intention of the mechanism to advance in the construction of an area of ​​deep integration through initiatives to strengthen the human capital, innovation and entrepreneurship, science and technology, development and internationalization of SMEs, infrastructure, among others, linked to efforts to diversify production and to encourage the construction and participation of our countries and our companies in global value chains.

At a press conference, the heads of state expressed their satisfaction not only for the achievements but also for the commitments made with a view to further progress of the citizens of the Pacific Alliance. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was pleased to confirm that the Pacific Alliance is one of the most powerful and dynamic instruments of integration, and also highlighted the progress made in education, innovation , entrepreneurship and tourism. Colombia’s Foreign Minister, Maria Angela Holguin, thanked the presidents their solidarity about the dire situation in Colombia wich forced President Juan Manuel Santos to return home. On the other hand, she said that the four countries are committed to a pragmatic and efficient mechanism for integration which improves the quality of life and provides further opportunities for growth to nationals of the Alliance.

The President of Mexico , Enrique Peña Nieto, said that the four countries share the same vision on how to boost development in their countries. He also expressed the need for progress on the four pillars of the mechanism: free movement goods, services, capital and people under the aegis of cooperation, and proposed the creation of a capital fund to support SMEs to achieve their entry into markets Alliance. For his part, the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, thanked the members of the Alliance for the impulse they have been providing for the integration process, being currently the most dynamic group in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. He also propounded to work in a common proposal on climate change towards COP21 in Paris and called for promoting the constant exchange of experiences between the four countries for the development of their people. Finally, the presidents met with the Business Council, an organization made up by the most representative business associations of the four countries to receive suggestions focused on the improved performance of the Pacific Alliance in economy and trade business associations.

Download here the Declaration of Paracas

The Pacific Alliance’s Council of Ministers met today at Paracas, Perú.

Firstly, the Ministers reviewed the progress of the X Summit agreements. They then approved the Project of the Paracas’ Declaration, which will be submitted for consideration by presidents Michelle Bachelet, from Chile; Juan Manuel Santos, from Colombia; Enrique Peña Nieto, from México, and Ollanta Humala, from Perú.

Mexico’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Antonio Meade, whose country will transfer the Pro Tempore Presidency of the mechanism to Peru, made a presentation on the progress that the mechanism has achieved in the linking process with the observers and third countries. Mr Meade highlighted the cooperation projects with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

The Ministers received, separately, the representatives from Costa Rica and New Zealand, in order to discuss about several cooperation projects between the Pacific Alliance and those countries.

Within the framework of the Council of Ministers, the cooperation framework agreement for financial support for companies from to the Pacific Alliance member countries was signed. This agreement will help to increase business and promote commercial exchange and investment between  the parties, particularly the SMEs related with the export sector.

The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration process formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru on April 28th, 2011. It brings together 217 millions of people, with a USD $ 2.1 billion GDP that represents 38% of the GDP of Latin America and the Caribbean.  The four member countries of this alliance concentrate 52% of Latin America and the Caribbean’s extra regional

The Ministers of the Pacific Alliance that attended the meeting were: t>he Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, and the Viceminister of Foreign Trade, Andrés Rebolledo, from Chile: the Minister of Foreign Trade, Industry and Tourism, Cecilia Álvarez-Correa, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, María Ángela Holguín, from Colombia; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Antonio Meade, and the Minister of Economy, Ildefonso Guajardo, from Mexico; the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Magali Silva, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ana María Sánchez, from Peru.