The Pacific Alliance member countries—Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru—welcome the entry into force of the Additional Protocol to the Framework Agreement, signed in Cartagena de Indias, on February 10, 2014.

 This Protocol is a fundamental commercial tool to move towards the free movement of goods, services, capital and people among the four countries.  The agreement provides tariff liberalization of 92 percent of trade in the Pacific Alliance, as well as liberalization on the remaining 8 percent in the short and medium term.  Its objective is to achieve free movement of goods among our countries in 2030.

The Protocol, in its 19 chapters, facilitates regional trade, removes trade barriers and establishes modern disciplines with regard to professional, maritime, telecommunications and electronic commerce services.

One aim of this new phase is to enter regional and global value chains, via the free flow of investments among the four countries, as a means to add value, increase the quality of goods and services and allow the export of more competitive products to international markets, with emphasis on the Asia-Pacific region.  Likewise, its entry into force will increase opportunities for economic operators, especially SMEs, to access an enlarged market and competitively internationalize their activities.

Based on this Protocol, the Pacific Alliance countries are committed to deepening trade within and beyond the region, in order to prompt economic development and improve the well-being of their citizens.

May 1, 2016

On April 25th and 26th, in the city of Lima, Peru, the XXXIV meeting of the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance took place, composed of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Chile, Colombia , Mexico and Peru.

Deputy Ministers received the report of the Ministry of Finance on the progress and current status of the 2015-2016 work plan outlined in the Declaration of Paracas, and assessed the state of affairs of the recommendations and proposals of the Business Council of the Pacific Alliance (CEAP).

In order to advance in the mandates established by the Heads of State towards the XI Summit of the Pacific Alliance to be held next July 1st in Puerto Varas – Chile, the Deputy Ministers reviewed the reports submitted by the Technical Groups which held their sessions on April 21st and 22nd around a number of issues such as external relations, movement of people, institutional issues, SMEs, innovation, services and capital, among others.

In other matters, the Deputy Ministers highlighted the benefits of the forthcoming entry into force (May 1st) of the Additional Protocol to the Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance to liberalize most of the trade between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which will contribute to significantly boost its trade integration.

The next meeting of the High Level Group will be held on June 7th in Mexico City.

It should be noted that the Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, created on April 28th, 2011. The countries of the mechanism concentrate a population of 216 million people and account for 39% of Product Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Latin America and the Caribbean.

Lima, April 26th, 2016.

The Ministers of Environment of the Republic of Chile, Pablo Martínez Badenier; of the Republic of Colombia, Gabriel López Vallejo; of the United Mexican States, Rafael Pacchiano Alamán; and of the Republic of Peru, Manuel Pulgar Vidal Otálora; gathered in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia,

DECLARE:

1. Our commitment to a Green Growth strategy that ensures a sustainable, equitable and inclusive economic development in our countries. That is why we reaffirm our particular interest in strengthening sustainable consumption and production methods, helping to promote investment and markets for environmental goods and services, to encourage green jobs, and to support progress toward the decoupling of economic growth regarding the use of natural resources. Furthermore, take actions to ensure the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services and to address climate change, in accordance with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and the respective capabilities.
2. Our commitment to see that the problems that negatively impact the environment will not end up disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable sectors, that is, with environmental equity as a central hub of the environmental policy. We also reaffirm our intention to strengthen, under each country’s current legal framework, an environmental institutionalism and its management instruments, including appropriate information access, gender-equality public participation in decision making and access to justice in environmental matters so as to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for a sustainable development.
3. Our decision to make greater efforts to implement efficient and effective environmental policies and drive the development of instruments and incentives that encourage the participation of different actors, including the private sector, on actions that contribute to the improvement of environmental management. It is our particular interest to promote dialogue on economic mechanisms for the mitigation of greenhouse gases and the development of renewable energy, among other measures to combat climate change.
4. Our commitment to foster processes of national dialogue between the relevant governments and stakeholders, like the private sector, which allow us to improve our policies and instruments, so that trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive and promote the optimal use of natural resources, according to the sustainable development goal.
5. Our willingness to articulate and promote a common environmental agenda that addresses the shared environmental priorities and contributes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
6. Our willingness to promote the creation of a Working Group within the Pacific Alliance, under the framework of the Declaration of the Presidents of the Pacific Alliance on Climate Change at COP20/CMP10, for which we entrust the Minister for Environment of Peru to channel this initiative through the applicable formal procedures.
7. Our agreement regarding future joint activities that allow to effectively advance on the identification, establishment and implementation of a Green Growth Platform.

Cartagena de Indias, March 30, 2016

Mexico City will host a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Pacific Alliance, who will assess the external relations of this integration initiative and ponder the work with its Observer States, on Thursday, March 17, 2016.

Currently, there are 42 Observer States in the Pacific Alliance, most of which share working agendas and cooperation projects with the Pacific Alliance in strategic areas such as education, innovation and competitiveness, among others.

The forthcoming meeting will provide an opportunity for ministers to strengthen the work with this group of countries, which is fundamental in order to further the international projection of the Pacific Alliance.

Ministers attending the meeting will be Maria Angela Holguin, from Colombia; Claudia Ruiz Massieu, from Mexico; Ana Maria Sanchez, from Peru; as well as the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Edgardo Riveros.

Mexico city, March 16th 2016

The first session of the 23° round of meetings of the technical groups of the Pacific Alliance started today in Bogota, with the presence of govenment officials of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The following groups are currently meeting in the headquarters of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia: External Relations, Movement of People, Communication Strategy, Cooperation, Institutional Affairs, SMEs, Innovation, Gender, Immigration and Security, Foreign Trade Single Windows, Regulatory Cooperation, as well as the Committee of Experts of the Business Council.

In addition, the technical groups of Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation, Foreign Trade Single Windows and Authorized Economic Operator are meeting in Cartagena. Activities of these groups include a visit to the city port in order to acquaint themselves with this port´s Simultaneous Inspection System, implemented by Colombia as a means to facilitate foreign trade operations.

With these actions, the Pacific Alliance continues to fulfill the President´s mandates aimed to deepen integration among its four full members.

March 1, 2016

The Deputy Ministers of Foreign Trade and Foreign Affairs of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru will attend the XXXIII Meeting of the Pacific Alliance High Level Group (HLG), in Bogota, on March 3.  Government officials of the four countries will gather on the two previous days, as part of the XXIII round of meetings of the technical groups.  The aforementioned events will take place in the headquarters of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Industry and Tourism of Colombia.

The agenda includes areas to be discussed by the following technical groups and subgroups: External Relations, Movement of People, Communication Strategy, Cooperation, Institutional Affairs, SMEs, Innovation, Gender, Immigration and Security, Foreign Trade Single Windows, Regulatory Cooperation, Trade Facilitation and Customs Cooperation, as well as the Committee of Experts of the Business Council.

The Technical Group of External Relations will agree on proposals aimed to deepen ties between the Pacific Alliance and the 42 observer states. This Group seeks to promote joint initiatives with observers in the framework of the four pillars of the Pacific Alliance: free movement of goods, services, people and capital.

As a result, the Pacific Alliance aims to move forward in the completion of the mandates of the Paracas Declaration. In this context, the HLG will make the necessary assessments and give directives in order to prepare the XI Summit of the Pacific Alliance, to be held on July 1, in Puerto Varas, Chile.

The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration mechanism established by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru on April 28, 2011. The full members of this alliance concentrate a population of 216 million people and represent 38% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Latin America and the Caribbean.

February 26, 2016

The Pacific Alliance welcomes the establishment of the ASEAN Community on 31 December, marking a milestone event since the actions of this ambitious area of integration will accelerate economic growth , progress and cultural development in the region Southeast Asia, envisioning that directly contribute to the welfare of their population.

The Pacific Alliance makes wishes for the ASEAN Community success and reiterates its commitment to strengthening dialogue and cooperation so that the work between the two mechanisms will lead to the institutionalization of their relations and the advance of the cooperation in benefit of their people.

On occasion of the XXIII Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) Summit, was held today the “Informal Dialogue between the Pacific Alliance (AP) & APEC”, which was co-chaired by the President of Peru, Ollanta Humala, as President Pro Tempore of the Pacific Alliance and the President of Philippines, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, Chair of APEC. Also attended the Presidents of Chile, Colombia and Mexico, and the leaders of APEC.

The meeting aimed at discussing opportunities in the agendas of both mechanisms, and represents for the Pacific Alliance an opportunity to boost its global projection, with special emphasis on Asia, a goal of said integration process.

During the meeting progress of each of the regional economic integration processes was analysed, their similarities were examined, a wide range of issues covered by each process were highlighted. Similarly, opportunities for collaboration were discussed.

APEC is the largest multilateral economic forum of economic and political importance in the Asia-Pacific. Created in 1989 its main objective is to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity for the Asia-Pacific region. Its 21 member economies are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Korea, USA, Philippines, Hong Kong-China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore , Taipei China, Thailand, and Vietnam. APEC economies represent the 56% of world production and the 46% of global trade.

It should be noted that Australia, Canada, China, Korea, USA, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand, are both APEC members and observer states of the Pacific Alliance.

The Pacific Alliance is the regional integration initiative formed on April 2011 by Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. It represents the eighth world economy, accounting for 37% of gross domestic product and 52% of foreign trade in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Philippines, November 18th – 2015

On November 18, it will be hold in Manila, the dialogue between the Pacific Alliance Presidents and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Leaders, in the framework of the XXIII Leaders Summit of the Forum.

The event, aimed to the four Presidents of the Pacific Alliance and the Leaders of APEC, will provide an opportunity to examine the integration process on both mechanisms and identify possible areas of future collaboration.

APEC has 21 members which represent approximately the 40 % of the world population, the 58% of world GDP and about the 45% of international trade. These economies are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, USA  and Vietnam.

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 .