July 5, 2024 – This morning the meeting of the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance – composed of the Vice Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru – was held at the Federico Santa Maria Technical University in the city of Valparaiso, a meeting that closed three days of PA activities in this region of Chile.
The meetings were led by Chile, as the current pro tempore presidency (PPT) of this regional integration mechanism, and were attended by Chile’s Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, and the Director General of Multilateral Economic Affairs and National Coordinator of Chile, Marcela Otero, who led the HLG; Colombia was represented virtually by the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Luis Felipe Quintero, and in person by the Director of Regional Integration Mechanisms, Ambassador Javier Higuera; Mexico was represented by the Undersecretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Laura Elena Carrillo, and the Undersecretary of Foreign Trade, Alejandro Encinas; and Peru was represented by the Vice Minister of Foreign Trade, Teresa Mera, and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eric Anderson Machado.
During the meeting, the HLG gave the mandate to implement the creation of the Working Group to advance the process of Costa Rica’s accession to the bloc; the progress of the 2024 work plan of the Cooperation Fund and the status of technical projects financed by this Fund; the status of the PA-Singapore economic trade agreement, along with other processes of external relations of the Pacific Alliance; along with the preparations for the IX PA Youth Meeting.
Also, the Digital Economy Subcommittee made a presentation on the Regional Digital Market and highlighted the upcoming Dialogue to Update the Roadmap of the Regional Digital Market of the Pacific Alliance, with the participation of academia, civil society and the private sector, to be held on July 30 and 31 in Santiago.
The vice ministers also met with the Sherpa of the Chile Chapter of the Business Council (CEAP), to learn about the concerns of the private sector of the four countries and the activities planned for this year by the CEAP, also currently chaired by Chile; and virtually, they spoke with representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Public-Academic Dialogue
Before the start of the meeting, the members of the HLG participated in the “Public-Academic Dialogue on Economic Growth and Regional Integration in the Pacific Alliance”, organized jointly by PPT Chile 2024 and the Federico Santa María Technical University.
In this activity, the PA authorities shared their thoughts and perspectives on the future of the regional bloc with academics, representatives of trade unions, small businessmen and students.
Presentation of the results of the SME Policy Index 2024
In addition, yesterday the Vice Ministers participated in the closing of the presentation of the results of the “SME Policy Index 2024: Towards an inclusive, resilient and sustainable recovery”, where they highlighted the importance of MSMEs in the economic growth of the regional bloc, and the efforts of the PA to support these companies through joint initiatives, specialized policies, support to develop productive linkages, among others.
In her speech, the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations of Chile, Claudia Sanhueza, pointed out that the 2024 edition of the Index, “identifies new challenges and offers precise recommendations to our governments and highlights the importance of supporting the digital transformation of MSMEs and promoting a green economy, integrating
This Index is a valuable resource for the Technical Group of SMEs of the PA, which uses it as input for the preparation of the MSMEs Public-Private Roadmap that is expected to be launched during this year, with the objective of growing intra-regional trade of MSMEs in a sustainable and inclusive manner.
Communications PPT 2024 Pacific Alliance
