10:51 | Cali (Colombia), Jun. 28.
The Pacific Alliance (PA) —economic bloc composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru— will likely open its doors to new trade-partner states during its upcoming XII Summit.
Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski will
join fellow PA leaders at the 2-day meeting (June 29-30), during which the bloc is expected to open a new, "associate-state" category.
Such group would constitute an intermediate category between the bloc's 4 founding members and its 52 observer states, which include countries like Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the U.S.
Adriana Mendoza, Director of Coordination and Integration Mechanisms at the Colombian Foreign Affairs Ministry, explains the measure opens up the possibility to sign trade agreements with a new range of countries.
Plans in this respect follow an announcement made last March regarding the quartet's decision to seek new markets in the Asia-Pacific area in response to looming "protectionist signals."
"We are mainly focused on economic and trade integration, and we primarily partner up to achieve effective inclusion in Asian markets," Mendoza pointed out.
Summit meetings
The Colombian official noted President Kuczynski along with PA counterparts Michelle Bachelet (
Chile), Juan Manuel Santos (
Colombia) and Enrique Peña Nieto (
Mexico) will address progress made by the bloc and coming challenges during the Pacific Alliance Presidential Summit.
The conclave will also convene PA members' Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministers, who will later meet with some of their counterparts from observer states like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Paraguay.
In addition, the event will include the IV Pacific Alliance Business Summit, an interaction platform for 500 business representatives from both PA founding members and observer states.
About the Pacific Alliance
Established in 2011, the
Pacific Alliance is a deep integration process uniting Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
The bloc fosters the free circulation of people, goods and services across its territories.
PA is the 8th largest economy in the world; its four members account for 55% of Latin America's free trade, 41% of the region's foreign direct investment and 35% of its GDP.
(END) AFP/JCC/DHT/MVB
Published: 6/28/2017