On April 25th and 26th, in the city of Lima, Peru, the XXXIV meeting of the High Level Group (HLG) of the Pacific Alliance took place, composed of the Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Chile, Colombia , Mexico and Peru.
Deputy Ministers received the report of the Ministry of Finance on the progress and current status of the 2015-2016 work plan outlined in the Declaration of Paracas, and assessed the state of affairs of the recommendations and proposals of the Business Council of the Pacific Alliance (CEAP).
In order to advance in the mandates established by the Heads of State towards the XI Summit of the Pacific Alliance to be held next July 1st in Puerto Varas – Chile, the Deputy Ministers reviewed the reports submitted by the Technical Groups which held their sessions on April 21st and 22nd around a number of issues such as external relations, movement of people, institutional issues, SMEs, innovation, services and capital, among others.
In other matters, the Deputy Ministers highlighted the benefits of the forthcoming entry into force (May 1st) of the Additional Protocol to the Framework Agreement of the Pacific Alliance to liberalize most of the trade between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, which will contribute to significantly boost its trade integration.
The next meeting of the High Level Group will be held on June 7th in Mexico City.
It should be noted that the Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative formed by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, created on April 28th, 2011. The countries of the mechanism concentrate a population of 216 million people and account for 39% of Product Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Lima, April 26th, 2016.