Pacific Alliance presents in Retina Latina, film series to learn about and take care for the environment

  • 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).

The Pacific Alliance and Singapore adopt a Work Plan to strengthen economic ties

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

Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru present panel discussion in Canada on the role of the Pacific Alliance in the international economic recovery

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.  

The Pacific Alliance celebrates its eleventh anniversary

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.

Pacific Alliance presents new AP Digital Teaching Network platform

  • 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 LXII Meeting of the High-Level Group (GAN) of the Pacific Alliance was held in person

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.

Foreign Ministers and Trade Ministers signed the Joint Declaration between the Pacific Alliance and Singapore

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

Pacific Alliance and Singapore sign Free Trade Agreement

  • The Asian country is about to become the first Associated State of the integration bloc.

January 26, 2022 – In the framework of the XVI Summit of Presidents of the Pacific Alliance, the Trade ministers of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, on the one hand, and that of Singapore, on the other, signed the Free Trade Agreement, whose negotiations ended in July 2021.

This instrument must now comply with the procedures before the legislative bodies of each of the countries, and in the case of Colombia, it must subsequently pass to the endorsement of the Constitutional Court.

The Agreement includes 25 chapters in disciplines such as: market access for goods, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade, economic and customs cooperation, trade facilitation, investment, e-commerce, cross-border trade in services, maritime services, telecommunications, temporary entry of business persons, state-owned enterprises, public procurement, competition policy, good regulatory practices, gender, SMEs and legal and institutional matters.

The signing of this Agreement marks a milestone for this integration initiative because Singapore will become the first Associated State of the Pacific Alliance.

The negotiations with the Asian economy complement the trade relationship, encourage the attraction of investments, facilitate government procurement contracts and enhance the access of service providers to a wide range of sectors.

It also opens the door to cooperation in various areas such as energy, food trade, the digital economy, infrastructure and urban solutions, port management and logistics, and the interoperability of Foreign Trade Single Windows.

Reaching the Singapore market through this trade agreement will allow the countries of the Alliance to use regional inputs from different countries enhancing regional production chains. It is expected to attract investors from that country to the extended market of the bloc as a productive and export platform to the region.

The Pacific Alliance is made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. It has a population of 230 million, a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 19,000 and exports of USD 627 billion. This makes the group the eighth largest exporter in the world. The Asian country became an Observer State of the Pacific Alliance in 2014 and a candidate for Associate State in 2017. Negotiations for a Trade Agreement were finalized in July 2021, after four years of deliberations.

PACIFIC ALLIANCE PPT COMMUNICATIONS

The Pacific Alliance moves forward in Norway

August 18, 2021.- For the first time in history, the Pacific Alliance participated in the framework of Arendalsuka, the most important political and business meeting in Norway. On this occasion, the ambassadors of the Pacific Alliance presented the event: “10 years of The Pacific Alliance: education, culture, and business opportunities”, with the purpose of making known the opportunities and benefits that this bloc composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru has to offer to Norwegian entrepreneurs and investors.

During the interventions, the ambassadors indicated that the Pacific Alliance works to strengthen regional integration, with the clear objective of progressively moving towards the free circulation of goods, services, capital and people in the region.

The presence of the Pacific Alliance at Arendalsuka was considered fundamental by the participants of the event. This year there was a greater relevance, taking into account that on September 13,2021 parliamentary elections will be held to define the government that will lead this Nordic country for the next four years. Norway, in addition to being an observer state of the Alliance, has companies such as Yara International, which has a presence in the four countries of the bloc, and BAMA, a company that imports agricultural products from the four member states of the PA to Norway.

The event was well attended, including key players in the Norwegian political arena, such as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway, Jens Frølich Holte, the media, the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Kingdom of Norway and members of academia.

The event generated interest among the attendees, who recognized the importance of the bloc, as well as the potential for future growth and thus promote Norwegian investment in our respective countries.

PACIFIC ALLIANCE PPT COMMUNICATIONS

IX Business Macro-Round of the Pacific Alliance to focus on Canada, Europe, Asia and Oceania

Exporters from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru will meet with more than 180 buyers in search of suppliers and quality products, a hallmark of the bloc’s members.

The annual flagship activity of the Pacific Alliance trade in goods, the Business Macro-Round, which will be held virtually from August 12, was segmented this year into three phases, according to the demand for products sought by the member countries of the bloc and third markets.

First, there will be a business round table aimed at Asia and Oceania, which will prioritize the supply of agri-foods, since the Asian continent is fundamental for the global trade of these products, as stipulated in the “Agri-Outlook” report of the FAO and the OECD. It is also the world’s fastest recovering region after the recession caused by the global health situation.

In this initial meeting, commercial ties will be strengthened with Singapore, a country with which negotiations were recently concluded to become an Associate State of the Pacific Alliance.

The second phase will focus on Europe, where agri-foods and natural ingredients will prevail. It should be noted that this region is increasingly demanding natural products and foods produced under the parameters of trends accentuated by the pandemic and favorable to the exportable supply of the Pacific Alliance, as also indicated in the aforementioned FAO and OECD report.

The third stage will be aimed at the markets of the Pacific Alliance and Canada, a candidate country to become an Associated State of the bloc. This last part of the Macro-Round will have a multi-sectoral orientation that will help boost intra-regional trade and the diversification of Pacific Alliance exports.

The segmentation of the Business Macro-Round will allow its companies to know what products are in demand by the main allies of the bloc, and to take advantage of the benefits provided through lower tariffs, improved delivery times and trade facilitation.

“In its eight previous versions, the PA Macro-Round has generated export opportunities for more than US$914 million to entrepreneurs from the four member countries, expanding their business at regional level and towards international markets. This edition contributes to economic reactivation and job creation in the countries that make up the bloc. It is also an ideal opportunity to strengthen the export offer of companies from Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru and, at the same time, strengthens trade links with allied countries of the mechanism,” said Flavia Santoro, president of ProColombia and current president pro tempore of the Technical Group of Promotion Agencies.