August 18, 2022.- On August 16 the National Coordinators of the Pacific Alliance held a virtual meeting with the Committee of Permanent Representatives to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN in order to review the implementation of the AP-ASEAN Work Plan (2021-2025), whose adoption in 2021 aims to continue strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation between both mechanisms. This plan is focused on the following areas: economic cooperation; in matters of education and culture; science, technology and innovation, as well as smart cities and connectivity; environment and sustainable development, and post-pandemic recovery.

As part of the meeting, the possible realization of the VII AP-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in the framework of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly was assessed and the upcoming IV Cooperation Forum of the Pacific Alliance was announced for August 30 and 31, with the objective of exploring opportunities for international cooperation with regional blocs, Observer States and other allied entities of the PA on issues such as creative industries, environment and sustainability, gender and women’s empowerment, among others.

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August 5, 2022.- On August 5, 2022, the First Ministerial Meeting on Empowerment and Economic Autonomy of Women of the Pacific Alliance was held.

The opening was in charge of Mexico as pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance, in which the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economy, Luz María de la Mora, and the President of the National Institute for Women, Nadine Gasman Zylbermann gave the welcome highlighting the importance of women’s empowerment and gender equity within the Pacific Alliance.

The meeting was divided into 3 blocks. The first one included the participation of Diana Miloslavich Tupac, Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru, Gheidy Gallo Santos, Presidential Adviser for Women’s Equity of Colombia, Luz Pascuala Vidal Huiriqueo, Undersecretary of Women and Gender Equity Chile, and Luz María de la Mora, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of Mexico, as well as the moderation of Nicole Bidegain, ECLAC Social Affairs Officer. During this segment, the ministers and deputy ministers highlighted the progress of their countries in promoting gender in economic and commercial matters, and pointed out the challenges that still persist to expand the participation of rural and indigenous women in trade.

The meeting was divided into 3 blocks. The first included the participation of Diana Miloslavich Tupac, Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations of Peru, Gheidy Gallo Santos, Presidential Adviser for Women’s Equity of Colombia, Luz Pascuala Vidal Huiriqueo, Undersecretary of Women and Gender Equity Chile, and Luz María de la Mora, Undersecretary of Foreign Trade of Mexico, as well as the moderation of Nicole Bidegain, ECLAC Social Affairs Officer. During this segment, the ministers and deputy ministers highlighted the progress of their countries in promoting gender in economic and commercial matters, and pointed out the challenges that still persist to expand the participation of rural and indigenous women in trade.

Officials from the World Bank, CAF, ECLAC and the OECD participated in the second block, and it was moderated by the Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of UN Women, María Noel Vaeza. During this segment, the panelists pointed out the importance of betting on economic and foreign trade policies with a gender approach; and exposed the need to take ambitious actions to close gender gaps. During their presentations, the panelists highlighted that only 11% of women in Latin America export and the importance of increasing this number, pointing out that the participation of women generates a positive impact on exports, on the quality of goods and services, in the quality of work and contracts. Likewise, the urgency of promoting access to digitalization was pointed out, as this is what really allows women to face the world out there world with their enterprises.

For its part, in block 3 there was a dialogue with different rural entrepreneurs from the Pacific Alliance countries. In this segment, attendees had the opportunity to participate and delve into the success stories of the businesswomen present.

At the closing ceremony, the Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of Colombia highlighted the work of the Technical Gender Group of the Pacific Alliance based on the 2022 Bahía Málaga Declaration to promote greater participation of companies led by women in production chains, with special emphasis on rural women’s enterprises. Additionally, all the countries of the Pacific Alliance were urged to work to create a favorable business ecosystem for women, promoting cooperation between the private and public sectors and collaboration and coordinated work at all levels.

July 7 and 8, 2022.- The Pacific Alliance Education for Employment Program for sustainable development and skills for employment in the extractive sector of (PA- EFE), financed by the Government of Canada (Global Affairs Canada) and executed by Colleges and Institutes Canada, the Canadian Association of Technological Institutes, developed a two-day face-to-face workshop, in Mexico City, at the Hilton Reforma Hotel, on the “Design, implementation and monitoring of public policies from the perspective of gender equality ”.

In this regard, Brigid Shea, Principal Agent of the PA-EFE Program, at CICan mentions: “We are very pleased to offer this course that will support the development of skills in the design of public policies, their implementation and monitoring from a gender equality perspective in teams in charge of the design, development and monitoring of sectoral policies in the ministerial teams of the four PA countries, contributing to the strengthening of regional dialogue”.

This course benefited 31 public officials from seven different public secretariats of the Mexican state, such as: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, Ministry of Tourism, and the National Institute for Women.

This activity is one of the last scheduled activities and its purpose is to achieve the objectives of the Gender Equality strategy of the PA-EFE Program and one of the indicators of the Performance Measurement Table, related to the strengthening of policies, guidelines implemented through of the program that significantly cover gender equality considerations and reinforce the empowerment of women.

This course was facilitated by Araceli Vásquez (Gender Equality specialist from Mexico) in coordination with Eliana Gallardo (Regional Consultant for Gender Equality and Indigenous Communities for the PA-EFE Program) and lasted 16 hours, managing to develop in the participants the following skills:

• Ability to understand basic terms about public policy with a gender equality perspective;

• Perception regarding gender equality as a category of analysis and a strategic tool in the design and formulation of public policies with a gender equality perspective;

• Integrate knowledge and resources of public policy analysis with an equality perspective that allows you to improve your performance as personnel responsible for the public function;

• Knowledge in the cycles of design, implementation and monitoring of public policies from the perspective of gender equality;

• Knowledge of tools for the mainstreaming of gender equality in public policies.

At the end of the workshop, a certification was granted by CICan, which recognizes the skills developed by each participant.

It is planned that this activity will also be carried out in the other three countries of the Pacific Alliance (Chile, Colombia and Peru) in presence-based modality in the upcoming months, and will also be aimed at officials of the partner ministries that work with the EFE-PA Program.

July 6, 2022.- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Mexico was the venue for the presentation of the ‘Analysis Report on policies and good practices of gender equality in the countries of the Pacific Alliance’ of the Education for Employment Program for sustainable development and skills for employment in the extractive sector of the Pacific Alliance (AP) which is financed by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada and executed by the College and Institutes Canada (CICan).

This report is the product of the teamwork between the four countries under the coordination of CICan to promote the gender equality strategy. This document collects the experiences in the design and implementation of 29 policies and programs in the member countries of the Pacific Alliance. The systematization of the policies was done in two phases, documentary (29 policies) and participative (25 policies) and had the objective of identifying, together, policies and good practices that can be shared between the countries and institutions, as an input to the regional dialogue and knowledge of advances in gender equality.

One of the objectives of the preparation of the report is to disseminate good practices among the countries, with the possibility, beyond the program, of establishing relationships between specialists from public and private entities of the PA countries and promoting horizontal advice based on knowledge about the identified policies.

During both processes of documentary and participative systematization, representatives of the ministries or secretaries of Education, Mining, Energy, Women, Foreign Affairs, Economy were summoned; as well as Universities and other instances of the four countries of the PA.

The report includes the analysis of both phases, as well as recommendations for countries that seek to improve their processes, identify good practices, dialogue with their peers and learn about gender equality policies that are implemented in the 4 countries, promoting dialogue, sharing and learning together.

Read the report here

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.