• On November 24, 2022, the XXVIII Meeting of Finance Ministers of the Pacific Alliance was held, with the in-person participation of the Undersecretary of Finance of Chile, Ms. Claudia Sanhueza Riveros, of the Undersecretary of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico Mr. Gabriel Yorio González and the Vice Minister of Economy of Peru, Mr. Alex Contreras Miranda; and virtually the Technical Vice Minister of Colombia, Mr. Gonzalo Hernández Jiménez. The meeting was chaired by Undersecretary Yorio, by virtue of the fact that Mexico holds the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance.

November 25, 2022.- The Finance Ministers of the Pacific Alliance (PA) met in a hybrid mode on November 24 in Mexico City, to celebrate the XXVIII Meeting of Finance Ministers of the PA.

The ministerial meeting began with a space for dialogue on the economic challenges that face the PA region, derived from the current economic and geopolitical context. The ministers made remarks on the impacts of inflationary pressures and the economic slowdown in some countries. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance between a framework of fiscal responsibility and meeting the needs of the population, through the use of all available public policy tools.

Afterwards, Mexico presented the results achieved under its pro tempore presidency of the PA. The Council of Finance Ministers (CFM) made great progress in terms of: i) financial integration, ii) finance and sustainable development, iii) investment in infrastructure, iv) innovation and financial digitization, v) management of catastrophic risks, vi) tax treatment, and vii) cybersecurity.

Among the main results to be highlighted are: i) the development of Common Principles to promote the sustainability of the bloc’s financial systems, which will serve as a common reference to promote sustainable investment and build an increasingly resilient and inclusive region, in accordance with the respective national frameworks and contexts; ii) the creation of a training program for officials of PA member countries in the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the operation of financial systems; iii) the development of the rules of operation and organization of an online platform for the PA Financial Innovation Hub, which will allow the construction of a space for dialogue and consultation between innovators and the regulatory and supervisory agencies of the PA countries ; and iv) the design of the Catastrophic Risk Coverage Program, a mechanism that will facilitate the joint contracting of risk transfer schemes among the member countries of the PA.

On the other hand, Peru announced the mandates that will govern the CFM work plan for the following year. In this sense, its agenda will focus, among others, on the promotion of financial inclusion, the evaluation of climate financing mechanisms, the fight against tax avoidance and evasion, the mobilization of resources for emergency care in the event of natural disasters, as well as the strengthening of the Council’s institutionalism, including coordination with the other instances of the Pacific Alliance and the improvement of the dissemination of results.

Finally, the ministers thanked the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for its commitment to the Pacific Alliance, in its role as Technical Secretariat of the CFM, and technical ally for the development and implementation of initiatives aimed at strengthening the process of financial and economic integration of the member countries of this regional integration mechanism.

November 24, 2022.- The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon, along with the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Alejandro Encinas Nájera, led the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Pacific Alliance (PA) today, with the participation of the Vice Minister of International Economic Relations of Chile, José Miguel Ahumada Franco; for Colombia, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Germán Umaña Mendoza, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laura Gil Savastano; and for Peru, the Minister of Foreign Relations, César Landa Arroyo, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Miguel Julian Palomino, who endorsed the presentation of the following declarations:

• Declaration of Mexico City
• Declaration of the Pacific Alliance for the Protection of the Environment and adaptation to Climate Change
• Declaration for Gender Parity in the Pacific Alliance
• Declaration of the Pacific Alliance on MSMEs and Entrepreneurship
• Declaration of the Pacific Alliance about Youth
• Declaration for Well-being, Development and Social Inclusion in the Pacific Alliance

Likewise, the Council of Ministers signed decision 13, “Guidelines on the Relationship between the Pacific Alliance and Associated States”, and decision 14, “Work Plan 2023 of the Pacific Alliance Cooperation Fund”.

Subsequently, the Council of Ministers and the Council of Finance Ministers, in addition to sharing the progress achieved this year, received high-ranking authorities from Costa Rica and Honduras, who have expressed their intention to join the PA as full members; from Canada and Korea as Associate States candidates, and from Singapore as the next first Associate State of the mechanism.

The host and Minister of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard, pointed out that these meetings are a sign of the commitment of our countries to forge a more social regional integration; recognized the importance of continuing to promote the gender issue transversally within the PA; highlighted the progress achieved regarding the candidates for Associate States; he emphasized the interest of all the member countries and those invited to work under one roof and, finally, he indicated that the XVII Summit of the Pacific Alliance will take place in Peru on a date determined by the four heads of state.

He also assured that “the Alliance works. Alliances that do not work, do not have applications for membership, and today almost the entire session was to listen to the countries that want to be part of our Alliance”.

“What we are seeing here is an exercise of cooperation and addition, there are not many. This is good news, whether or not they participate in the Pacific Alliance, because it speaks of the potential of cooperation, multilateral instruments and understanding between nations. So, they have asked me to transmit it to them because this was mentioned throughout the meeting”, pointed out Minister Ebrard.

For his part, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia, Germán Umaña Mendoza, said that “only with social cohesion and inclusion, growth is warranted, because it is development and it is sustainability.” Sharing these values ​​today in the Pacific Alliance “is a privilege for my country, which is undergoing a profound transformation process, and for Latin America, which is responding in a really intelligent way to the serious difficulties we have experienced in recent years,” he said.

During her speech, the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Laura Gil Savastano, thanked Mexico for its leadership and above all for emphasizing the social sphere. She expressed Colombia’s commitment to total peace and regional integration.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Peru, César Landa Arroyo, highlighted that “assuming the pro tempore presidency with Mexico leaving such a high bar, commits us to deepen this social agenda that has already been defined.”

Likewise, he assured that “this interest has to be reflected in a tangible way for the benefit of citizens, and in particular with the accompaniment of sister countries that are in the process of integration and that this process should be completed in the pro tempore presidency.”

He also expressed his faith and hope to face a troubled time that our region and the world are going through, “it is continental and transcontinental unity, including Asia-Pacific countries, which will guarantee being able to solve in a much more integrated way, sharing experiences and also overcoming the differences that may exist for the sake of a common good, not only universal but also regional and local for the benefit of our populations, for this reason, we will reinforce the Pacific Alliance process”, he concluded.

The delegation of Peru, as the next pro tempore presidency, ratified its commitment to maintain the Pacific Alliance as an agile and regional mechanism; encourage all instances to work in coordination to promote the work agenda; support the processes of incorporation of Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras to the Alliance; strengthen relations with Observer States and promote cooperation projects that generate greater integration within the Alliance.

COMMUNICATIONS PPT PACIFIC ALLIANCE

The Promotion Agencies Technical Group of the Pacific Alliance ProChile, ProColombia, the Ministry of Economy of Mexico and PromPerú updated the Pacific Alliance Infrastructure Investment Opportunities Portfolio. This version, in addition to the already 15 interesting infrastructure projects with investment possibilities, has strategic information for investors, such as trade figures, investment, economic growth, population, and reasons why the Pacific Alliance block is an attractive destination to investors. The projects are from the following subsectors:

• Roads
• Water and sanitation
• Railway
• Fluvial
• Ports

For the second year, this initiative will be disseminated through two face-to-face Investment Seminars in Japan and Canada, and a virtual Investment Roundtable in China. The objective is to disseminate information on the advantages for investment as well as promote the 15 most important infrastructure projects in the block.

Read «Opportunities Portfolio»

In the activity, which will be broadcast free of charge and open on Thursday, November 24, aspects and skills that are essential for professional teacher development in an increasingly digitized society will be addressed.

November 15, 2022.- After the pandemic and the closure of educational institutions, teachers had to learn to use digital tools to teach their classes remotely, which contributed to accelerating the technological transformation of society. However, this emergency situation was not necessarily accompanied by professional development that would prepare teachers to use these tools with a pedagogical sense that, in addition to ensuring learning, would ensure an inclusive education.

Aware of the importance of closing this digital gap -which already existed but which worsened with the arrival of COVID-19-, this year the Pacific Alliance created the PA Digital Teaching Network, a platform implemented by Fundación Chile that offers free online courses of high quality to generate capacities of pedagogical use in digital technological tools in teachers and management teams of educational institutions that work at the elemental or primary school level in Chile, Colombia, Mexico or Peru.

On Thursday, November 24, the third virtual seminar organized by this initiative will be held, where the more than 3,000 teachers who have been trained on this platform will be able to participate, but also all those who are interested in learning more about these topics. The activity, entitled “Competences to take advantage of the digital space at school: communication, collaboration and learning support”, will take place at 12:00 p.m. in Mexico; at 1:00 p.m. in Colombia and Peru and at 3:00 p.m. in Chile.

The speaker will be Mariana Maggio, an academic in Education and Technology from the National University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and Director of the Master’s and Specialization in Educational Technology course at the same university. Maggio is also a renowned writer and is the author of the books “Education in a pandemic” (2021), “Reinventing the class at the university” (2018) and “Enriching teaching” (2012).

To participate in the virtual seminar, people who are interested must create a profile on the platform. Then, access the program’s webinar platform and enter your email to confirm your participation in the seminar. The day before the activity they will receive a personalized email with the access address to the seminar.

Those who wish to learn more about the initiative and the training programs can access the Learning for the Future podcast “PA Digital Teaching Network: an alliance to strengthen digital teaching skills”.

November 12, 2022.- In Beijing, the Dialogue on Education Cooperation between China and the Pacific Alliance (PA) countries was successfully held.

The event was organized with the China Education Association for International Exchange (CEAIE), and included the participation of Dr. Liu Limin, president of CEAIE; Ms. Fu Bo, CEAIE Assistant Secretary General; Dr. Chen Dali, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Exchange and Cooperation, Ministry of Education of China; Mr. Sergio Narea, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from the Chilean Embassy in China; Mr. José Francisco Díaz Ulloa, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. the Embassy of Colombia in China; Mrs. Erika Lizardo, business manager a.i. from the Embassy of Peru in China; and the Amb. of Mexico in China, Dr. Jesús Seade, as well as representatives of a large number of Chinese universities and PA member countries.

Dr. Liu Li Min, in his opening speech, stressed that educational cooperation is a very important issue.

For his part, Amb. Seade stressed that the progress, development, and innovation of specialized knowledge is only possible through programs that lay the foundation for the educational cooperation of excellence and for long term.

Sergio Narea pointed out that academic cooperation has been a priority for the PA from the beginning, and noted the importance of the event within the framework of the IV PA Cooperation Forum that was held on August 30 and 31 of this year.

Francisco Díaz Ulloa reiterated his commitment to strengthen exchange ties with China, and the common goal of making the PA known in multiple forums in that nation.

Finally, Erika Lizárraga invited to expand the mobility platforms of the PA youth and stressed that next year Peru, as President Pro Tempore of the PA, plans to continue with the dialogue and the ideas that were developed.

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November 7, 2022.- Within the framework of the Presidential Declaration signed in 2019 in line with the strategic vision of the Pacific Alliance (PA), in 2020 a Roadmap for the Sustainable Management of Plastics was developed, which identifies eight areas of action focused on regulation, good practices and public policies; innovation, research and business transformation; plastic waste management and recycling; circular economy; financing; education, information and citizen transformation; trade; and international cooperation.

At the initiative of the Mexico pro tempore presidency of the PA, the Technical Group for the Environment and Green Growth (GTMACV) organized a virtual workshop for dialogue and exchange of experiences with experts from the Finnish Ministry of the Environment on the subject of roadmaps on sustainable management of plastics and regulations on this matter.

This activity is the second conversation that the Technical Group has held with an Observer State of the integration mechanism, within the framework of the aforementioned roadmap, after the one held with Switzerland on October 29, 2020, during the then presidency pro tempore of Chile.

In their opening remarks, Annika Lindblom, Director of International and European Union Affairs at the Finnish Ministry of the Environment, and Constance Nalegach, Head of the Office of International Affairs at the Chilean Ministry of the Environment and Coordinator of the GTMACV, highlighted the global problem of plastic pollution and the need to achieve joint solutions in this matter, including through existing international mechanisms and new initiatives to deal with this challenge.

The workshop included presentations on Finland’s “Plastic Roadmap” and the PA’s Sustainable Plastics Management Roadmap, including the development of these instruments, definition of goals and regulatory progress by both parties, in addition to international cooperation in different instances, among other matters. After the presentations, there was a space for consultations and the potential for existing cooperation between Finland and the Pacific Alliance in this matter.

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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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.