On July 1, 2022, the XXVII Meeting of Finance Ministers of the Pacific Alliance was held with the presence of the Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, Mr. José Manuel Restrepo Abondano, and the Deputy Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico, Mr. Gabriel Yorio González; and virtually with the presence of the Minister of Economy and Finance of Peru, Mr. Oscar Graham Yamahuchi, and the Coordinator of Finance and International Affairs of the Ministry of Finance of Chile, Mrs. Carola Moreno. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Minister Yorio, since Mexico holds the pro-tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance.

July 3, 2022.- The Finance Ministers of the Pacific Alliance (PA) met in a hybrid way on July 1 in Mexico City, to celebrate the XXVII Meeting of PA Finance Ministers.

The meeting began with a space for dialogue on the economic challenges faced by the Alliance, derived from global risks, especially those related to inflationary pressures, capital rebalancing and the monitoring of tensions derived from geopolitical conflicts.

The ministers highlighted the challenges that emerging countries face due to the high financing costs, derived from the rise in interest rates, in a post-pandemic context. Additionally, they determined the importance of developing fiscal policies that allow reducing the effects that inflation has had on energy and food, highlighting the commitment to continue acting decisively to protect the most vulnerable populations of the member countries of the PA.

Afterwards, they made a reflection session on the future of the Pacific Alliance within the framework of the Strategic Vision 2030, adopted in 2018, with a view to continuing to work on the four axes: more integrated, more global, more connected and more citizen . The ministers highlighted the importance of having medium-term work agendas aimed at: i) deepening the regional capital market; ii) strengthen the financial management of the risk of natural disasters, and iii) establish mechanisms to increase financial resources to combat climate change and promote inclusive and sustainable growth. Furthermore, within this strategic planning, they expressed the support of the Ministries of Finance of the Pacific Alliance to Peru in the process of accession to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

On the other hand, the ministers analyzed the possible areas of collaboration between the PA and Singapore, which will become the first Associated State of this regional bloc. Taking into account the great progress that Singapore has made in the development of an international digital economy agenda, the interest that exists in collaboration on issues related to the Fintech industry and financial inclusion was highlighted. Likewise, it was recognized that it was possible to learn from the experience of the Asian partner in matters of sustainable growth and capital markets.

Subsequently, Mexico briefly presented the progress of the work plan of the Council of Finance Ministers, among which are the identification of certifications that allow the strengthening of the capacities of officials in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters; the preparation of common principles of sustainable and resilient infrastructure; the development of work on cybersecurity; the identification of methodology on transition sectors and assets, and the collaboration between international financial organizations to work on pandemic risks.

Finally, the ministers thanked the Inter-American Development Bank for its commitment to the PA, in its role as Technical Secretariat of the Council of Finance Ministers, and technical ally for the development and implementation of initiatives aimed at strengthening the process of financial and economic integration of member countries of this regional integration mechanism.

Within the framework of the Meeting of the High Level Group of the Pacific Alliance, held on June 23, 2022, in Santiago de Chile, the beginning of the negotiation process was announced to reach a Free Trade Agreement between the Pacific Alliance and South Korea, which will allow this Asian country to become an Associated State of the Pacific Alliance, once the trade agreement between the parties enters into force.

With this, the countries of the Pacific Alliance reaffirmed the commitment established in the Declaration of Bahía Málaga, to start this process during the first half of this year. In this regard, the Vice Ministers of the Pacific Alliance and the Korean Chief Negotiator instructed their teams to begin work, in accordance with the Terms of Reference agreed for that purpose.

The trade agreement between the countries of the Pacific Alliance and South Korea will further deepen and strengthen the current trade relationship between the five countries, seeking mutual benefit and the development of their inhabitants.

South Korea is among the main trading partners of the countries of the Pacific Alliance and has been an Observer State since 2014. Korea expressed its intention to begin the process to obtain the status of Associated State of the Pacific Alliance in 2018 and it was stipulated in the Declaration of Puerto Vallarta. For the Pacific Alliance, starting this negotiation process will allow it to advance in its objective of becoming a platform for economic and commercial integration with a projection towards the Asia-Pacific region.

June 16, 2022.- On the occasion of the eleventh anniversary of the creation of the Pacific Alliance (PA), the Missions of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, and the  European External Action Service –EEAS-, carried out the second cultural meeting in Brussels called “Flavors of the Pacific Alliance”.

Managing Director for the Americas in the European External Action Service, Brian Glynn, pointed out that the Pacific Alliance is a mechanism that since its creation generated deep interest within the European Union, which was ultimately reflected in the PA-EU Joint Declaration signed in 2019 to reflect the strategic cooperation between both regions.

For his part, the representative of the Embassy of Mexico to the European Union, in his capacity as pro tempore presidency, recalled that the Pacific Alliance came out from the need to integrate a common front to address new challenges, both regional and global, and recognizing the importance of dialogue and cooperation to promote a sustainable and sustained economic and social development . He pointed out that, during 2022, the Pacific Alliance will seek to be an increasingly integrated, more global, more connected mechanism that responds decisively and resounding to the needs of its citizens, including cooperation with the European Union.

As for the Ambassador of Peru and the chargés d’affaires of Chile and Colombia highlighted the important achievements of the Alliance in these 11 years, the potential offered by the strategic relationship and cooperation between both blocs and the joint contribution that both mechanisms can do to multilateralism and in defense of their shared values.

The event was held at the facilities of the European External Action Service and brought together more than 200 senior officials from the European Commission as well as the diplomatic corps accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union. The musical entertainment included artistic proposals from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, in addition to culinary samples from the four Latin American countries that were conducive to reinforcing communication channels and resuming cooperation initiatives between both regions.

• From June 9 to July 9, through www.retinalatina.org, the Latin American public will be able to enjoy a sample of nine films, which propose a reflection on the importance of caring for and preserving the environment.

• Likewise, this initiative, which brings together film productions from the four member countries of the Pacific Alliance – PA (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru), seeks to generate reflections on the human actions that are producing environmental changes on the planet.

June 9, 2022 – Between June 9 and July 9, 2022, the Technical Group on Culture of the Pacific Alliance (PA) made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, presents to the Latin American public the ‘Pacific Alliance Cycle, cinema to learn about and care for the environment’, with a selection of nine films that present the work of leading professionals in the audiovisual sector in the region through www.retinalatina.org.

This film series will be focused on showing the importance of caring for and preserving the environment, in order to generate reflections on human actions that are producing environmental changes on the planet. This initiative is part of the promotion and integration strategy of the work plan defined by the Technical Group on Culture of the Pacific Alliance for the period (2021-2022).

The film showcase will be available for free viewing through www.retinalatina.org or its application for iOS and Android. This digital platform can be visited free of charge from all Latin America and Caribbean countries.

In line with the objective of the cycle, on June 23 there will be a conversation (Facebook Live @mincultura), with the participation of the producers and filmmakers invited to the cycle, with the aim of promoting a dialogue around their films and the sustainable practices they implement in the development of their productions. 

More about the program and the selection of films:

‘Pacific Alliance Cycle, cinema to learn about and take care for the Environment’.

The films will be available at www.retinalatina.org from June 9 to July 9, 2022. 

Chile:

La Cuenta Regresiva, documentary short film, 2020.

Melty Hearts, short fiction film, 2018.

Colombia:

Meremberg, documentary short film, 2021

Suspensión, documentary feature film, 2021

Relatos de Redención, short fiction film, 2020

México:

Don Isidro, una vida pastoreando, documentary short film, 2016.

Una corriente salvaje, documentary feature film, 2019

Perú 

Hija de la laguna, documentary feature film, 2015

Dalila, la guardiana del monte, short film, 2018

More about the Technical Group on Culture of the Pacific Alliance 

One of the objectives of the Technical Group on Culture of the Pacific Alliance is to promote the development of the cultural and creative industries of the member countries, based on the international projection of the identity and diversity of its member countries.

vIn this way, as part of the Pacific Alliance’s promotional strategies, a series of film cycles have been developed with different thematic approaches such as ‘The Pacific Alliance Nobels’ (2017), ‘Cinema made or starring women (2020), ‘Indigenous Cinema’ (2020), ‘Year of Freedom: film cycle to highlight our Afro heritage’ (2021) and ‘International Year of the Creative Economy’ (2022).

May 16th, 2022.- A Work Plan between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore was adopted at an event in Mexico City led by Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, as President pro tempore of the Pacific Alliance, and Alvin Tan, Minister of State for Trade and Industry of Singapore. 

Also present were officials from the Embassies of Chile, Colombia and Peru accredited in Mexico. 

At the event, the Member States of the Pacific Alliance and Singapore formally adopted the Work Plan in which they express their readiness to work on issues such as: the digital economy, technology and innovation, sustainability, trade facilitation and commercial ties. 

This achievement is part of the work done by the Pacific Alliance to forge relationships with its community of Observer States in line with the goals set forth in the 2030 Strategic Vision of the Pacific Alliance. 

Singapore recently concluded negotiations with the Member States of the Pacific Alliance and will soon become the first Associate State of the mechanism.

PACIFIC ALLIANCE PPT COMMUNICATIONS

Ottawa, Canada, May 13, 2022. On the occasion of the 11th anniversary of the establishment of the Pacific Alliance, the embassies of Chile, Colombia, Peru and Mexico to Canada hosted a panel discussion entitled “A sustainable and inclusive economic recovery in a time of upheaval: The role of the Pacific Alliance”.

The panel discussion included the participation of Dr. Meredith Lilly, Associate Director of the Masters in International Affairs at Carleton University, Dr. Pablo Heidrich, Associate Professor of International Political Economy at Carleton University, and Adriana Vega, Director of International Banking Communications at Scotiabank, as moderator. 

During the discussion, panelists addressed the priorities of the Pacific Alliance amid Mexico’s pro tempore presidency, including the promotion of digital commerce; streamlining the processes involved in the flow of goods; greater access to goods and services to the benefit of small and medium-sized enterprises – notably those led by women, as they have greater potential to insert themselves in the trade dynamics between the four countries; and how these efforts can be coordinated with our Canadian partners.

This in-person event took place at the Embassy of Mexico in Canada and was joined by representatives in the fields of politics, academia, and business in the Canadian capital, who gained a thorough understanding of the relevance of this successful mechanism of regional integration and the existing opportunities to expand the ties with Canada. The four countries offered samples of their regional refreshments.  

On April 28, 2011, in response to the necessity of integrating a collective effort to address new challenges, both regional and global, and recognizing the importance of dialogue and cooperation to promote a sustainable and sustained economic and social development, the Pacific Alliance is integrated by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

Since its creation, the Pacific Alliance has been a global reference in terms of integration; proof of this is the interest that the mechanism has attracted in various regions of the world. As of today, the Pacific Alliance has 61 Observer States and has successfully concluded negotiations with Singapore, which will soon become the mechanism’s first Associate State.

In January 2022, Mexico assumed the responsibility of coordinating the work of the Pacific Alliance as pro tempore presidency, opportunity that Mexico will use to promote innovative schemes and projects that will provide our citizens with useful tools to improve their living conditions and quality of life.

As pro tempore presidency of the Mechanism, Mexico will continue to collaborate with all member countries to make the Pacific Alliance a better integrated mechanism, more global and better connected, that responds decisively and vigorously to the needs of our citizens.

• The free training offer that will be available on the Network for teachers seeks to strengthen the digital skills of professionals from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru who work in basic or primary education.

• The scope of the platform will be announced in the framework of the conversation “Radical Collaboration for Learning in the 21st Century” that will take place on May 3. It will also address the opportunities and challenges of collaborative work in virtual learning environments in schools.

With the purpose of inviting the teaching community of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, to learn about a new free training offer of high quality and relevance to today’s educational challenges, the Pacific Alliance will present on May 3 its new AP Digital Teaching Network, developed within the framework of the initiative “Strengthening the digital skills of teachers and directors of Basic Education”.

The platform, implemented by Fundación Chile, will offer online courses that aim to generate capacities for pedagogical use in digital technological tools that allow teachers, together with directors of educational institutions that work at the primary or basic school level (students between 6 and 14 years), strengthen their practices and continue with their professional development. In addition, it will provide a virtual meeting space for knowledge.

The training offer was designed considering a diagnosis that identified teaching needs in the context of the pandemic. This consisted of interviews with key actors in each country, a focus group to collect their experiences, perceptions and challenges, and a survey of self-perception of digital skills. In this way, the first three courses will address effective pedagogical practices mediated by technology at different levels of depth.

“This project, financed by the Pacific Alliance Cooperation Fund, was born as a response to the needs that the health pandemic has revealed. In the Pacific Alliance we work to consolidate ourselves as a more integrated citizen mechanism, therefore, the launch of the Digital Teaching Network is an important initiative that will allow the teachers of our countries to respond comprehensively and forcefully to the new reality, strengthening those key skills and updating essential knowledge for an effective educational process for girls, boys and young people”, maintains the block of the Pacific Alliance.

For her part, the  director of Learning for the Future of Fundación Chile, Andrea Osorio , refers to the seal of the new training offer that will be available from April 22: “The educational challenges of the region, exacerbated by the health crisis , require the construction of new methods for learning, and in this, technology and collaboration are tools that we seek to promote with the development of flexible courses, in tune with daily practices and from an innovative and transforming perspective of our educational systems. ”

The presentation of the AP Digital Teaching Network will take place in the virtual colloquium  “Pacific Alliance Digital Teaching Network: Radical collaboration for 21st century learning”.  The activity will feature the participation of  Valeria Kelly, consultant for the ICT Program at IIEP UNESCO , office for Latin America, who has specialized in educational technology, new literacies and distance education. Also participating will be Libertad Manzo, coordinator of Instructional Design for Learning for the Future of Fundación Chile , who led the development of the courses that will be announced.

To participate in the virtual colloquium and future webinars, interested persons must register at the following link:  https://webinardocenciadigitalap.vcongrez.com/

To enroll in the courses of the AP Digital Teaching Network, teachers must join the new platform starting April 22:  https://www.reddocenciadigitalap.net/

The meeting was held at the Palacio de San Carlos, the seat of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was attended by José Miguel Ahumada Franco, Undersecretary for International Economic Relations of Chile; María Carmelina Londoño, Vice Minister for Multilateral Affairs, and Luis Fernando Fuentes, Vice Minister for Foreign Trade of Colombia; Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of Mexico (as Pro Témpore Presidency); and Luis Enrique Chávez Basagoitia, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Ana Cecilia Gervasi Díaz, Vice Minister of Foreign Trade of Peru.

At the meeting, the authorities discussed trade issues, including the negotiation process with Associated States, specifically South Korea, and the eventual adherence of Ecuador to the mechanism. They also discussed cooperation matters, such as the release of the launch of the call for the cooperation fund, the 4th Cooperation Forum and the follow-up to the joint declarations with Observer States. They also discussed the activities to be conducted on the 11th anniversary of the Pacific Alliance to be held on April 28.

Finally, they received representatives of the AP Business Council and the Inter-American Development Bank, with whom they reviewed their relationship with the mechanism.

January 26, 2022 – The signing of the Joint Declaration with Singapore, which seeks to deepen cooperation in areas of common interest that contribute to the free movement of goods, services, capital and people, took place in Bahia Malaga, venue of the XVI Summit of the Pacific Alliance.

According to the Joint Declaration, the Pacific Alliance and Singapore will identify opportunities in areas such as investment, trade and tourism, digital economy, trade facilitation measures, culture, economy/inclusive growth, among others.

The document was signed by the Foreign Minister of Chile, Andrés Allamand; the Vice President and Foreign Minister of Colombia, Marta Lucía Ramírez; the Minister of Commerce of Colombia, María Ximena Lombana; the Foreign Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard; the Secretary of Economy of Mexico, Tatiana Clouthier; the Foreign Minister of Peru, Óscar Maúrtua, and the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, Roberto Sánchez.

See the statement here

PACIFIC ALLIANCE PPT COMMUNICATIONS