On May 10th, the XXI Meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Pacific Alliance, formed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, was held in Mexico City.
One of the main objectives of the Council was to review the preparations for the Lima Summit, which will take place on July 5th and 6th in that Peruvian city, with the presence of the Heads of State of the countries of the mechanism.
During the meeting, the Ministers signed a first decision linked to the entry into force of the Cooperation Fund starting on July 6th, which will allow the development and financing of joint projects to generate greater opportunities for citizens and the strengthening of capacities for SMEs.
They also approved the establishment of the Technical Group of Development and Social Inclusion with the aim of advancing in the construction of a more citizen-friendly Pacific Alliance, one of the fundamental axes of the 2030 Strategic Vision.
In addition, recognizing the importance of continuing to move forward in an orderly and efficient manner, they reviewed the progress of the Work Plan for the implementation of Strategic Vision 2030, which will be presented next July, and will establish a medium and long-term route for the four countries.
On the other hand, the Council of Ministers made a positive assessment and welcomed the interest of Ecuador and Korea in approaching the Pacific Alliance. The results achieved at the latest meetings of chief negotiators of the PA on the process with the candidates to be Associated States, held between May 4th and 8th, were reviewed.
This meeting also allowed to review the status of the Declarations that the PA will subscribe with the EU, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the OECD and Japan, as well as the Declaration on Environmental Issues. These are instruments that must be subscribed in the framework of the XIV Lima Summit to be held on July 5th and 6th.
Likewise, the entry of two new AP Observer States was agreed: Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, bringing the number of members in this category to 57.
The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration mechanism that aspires to be consolidated as a common economic platform with a projection to the Asia-Pacific and the world.
