Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez Colín hosted the 21st meeting of the Pacific Alliance Council of Ministers, which was attended by their colleagues from Chile, Colombia and Peru.
The Mexican government expressed its commitment to Latin America, saying that the current administration would strengthen its integration with the region and give priority to the work of the Pacific Alliance.
The Council of Ministers reviewed the work done by the technical groups, which number more than 20 and address trade facilitation; regulatory cooperation; SMEs; gender; public procurement; promotion; cooperation; and education, among other issues they were tasked with by the Presidents at the last Summit in Puerto Vallarta. It also reviewed the progress of the negotiations involving the candidates for associate member status; advances in implementing the Puerto Vallarta Action Plan jointly with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR); and the preparations for the 14th Pacific Alliance Summit, which will take place on July 5-6 in Lima, Peru.
The officials analyzed the Work Plan of the Strategic Vision 2030, with the goal of ensuring that the Pacific Alliance continues to lead and be more accessible to the societies of the member countries. The work plan establishes the roadmap with which to achieve the goals of the group's strategic vision.
The meeting's participants also approved the requests of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan for status as Observer States, which now total 57 and help give the Pacific Alliance a global reach.
They also worked on the Cooperation Fund, which will be responsible for collecting the proposals for cooperation between the Pacific Alliance and the Observer States.
On May 9, as part of the meeting, the Pacific Alliance Park was inaugurated in Mexico City with the participation of Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard; Economy Secretary Graciela Márquez; the foreign ministers and foreign trade ministers of Chile, Colombia and Peru; and the technical secretary of the Mexico City government, Rosa Icela Rodríguez, on behalf of Dr. Claudia Sheinbaum, Head of the Mexico City government.
The park and the ministerial meeting hosted in Mexico City demonstrate the importance the Mexican government gives to the Pacific Alliance as "the backbone of our country's foreign policy toward Latin America."
The Pacific Alliance is a regional integration initiative made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. It was created on April 28, 2011 to promote the free movement of people, goods, capital and services. Together, the member countries have a population of about 225 million and a GDP of more than 2 trillion dollars, or 35% of that of Latin America and the Caribbean, which would make it the ninth largest economy in the world. Its four member countries account for 57% of Latin America and the Caribbean's trade with the world.