Pacific Alliance Summit

By Francisco Espinosa Bellido

Punta Mita, Mexico´s luxury beachfront village, hosted on June 19 and June 20 the IX Pacific Alliance Summit. Presidents Ollanta Humala from Peru, Enrique Peña Nieto from Mexico, Michelle Bachelet from Chile and Juan Manuel Santos from Colombia strengthen the trade bloc ties and continued working on a joint agenda for trade promotion and free circulation of goods, services, capital and people.

President Humala highlighted the consistent and quick progress achieved by the integration mechanism in its just three years of existence, evidence, he said, of the political will and enthusiasm of its members: "Everything creates a synergy that generates global expectations because other countries now see tangible results”.

Amongst the most important decisions made on the Summit was an agreement signed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The latter will seek for a much more profound growth, integration and competitiveness for micro, small and medium sized enterprises of Mexico, Peru, Chile and Colombia, considered by all four Presidents as a key job creation engine.

National authorities also reviewed Costa Rica and Panama´s advanced process of promptly joining the Alliance.