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.
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