Chile assumes the pro tempore Presidency of the Pacific Alliance in Lima

MADRID, 23 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –

This Friday in the capital of Peru, the Government of Chile assumed the pro tempore Presidency of the Pacific Alliance, which was handed over by the Peruvian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Javier González Olaechea, during the XXIX meeting of the Council of Ministers of the bloc. Regional integration.

«It is an honor to receive in Lima, on behalf of Chile, the pro tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance. We will work to project this mechanism as a reference for regional integration, strengthening ties between Member States, the private sector and observers,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alberto van Klaveren, in his account on the social network Twitter.

Thus, the Chilean Undersecretary of International Economic Relations has explained that the country will “politically and technically lead” this regional mechanism made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru until the end of the year.

The new Presidency has established among its main objectives the projection of the group “as a regional reference; economic growth with a focus on increased productivity, diversification with MSMEs, gender equality and decentralization; the establishment of a direct connection between the alliance and citizens, and the positioning of the alliance in public, private, civil society and academic bodies.

“Regional integration and the work linked to the citizens of each of the countries of the bloc will be permanent pillars of our presidency of the Pacific Alliance,” said Van Klaveren, who has also expressed his commitment to “promote greater competitiveness.” commercial, as well as increasing the free movement of goods, services, capital and people between (their) territories.

Likewise, the Chilean Foreign Minister thanked Peru, his predecessor in office, “for its leadership in advancing in various matters for the benefit of our citizens.”

A CRUCIAL MOMENT FOR THE PACIFIC ALLIANCE

For his part, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Juan Carlos Mathews, has stressed that it is “a crucial moment” for the region and has claimed that “it is essential to continue working together to promote sustainable development and promote greater economic integration », according to statements collected by the Andina agency.

“This implies continuing to promote the consolidation of the Pacific Alliance as a platform for deep integration that promotes the free circulation of goods, services, capital and people,” he clarified.

In this regard, Mathews has stressed “the importance of digital transformation”, especially within the framework of companies, and has emphasized the “efforts” made by Peru “to implement a Regional Digital Market addressing aspects such as Business Digital Security , Network Neutrality and Intellectual Property in the digital ecosystem.

The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative created on April 28, 2011 by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, with the objective of building an area of ​​deep integration. Currently, three countries (Costa Rica, Ecuador and Honduras) aspire to become full members of the group and another five (Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and South Korea) aspire to be associate states. The organization also has the participation of 63 observer States.