LIMA, April 26 (NNN-ANDINA) — Pres Dina Boluarte said that Peru will not give up on keeping the Pacific Alliance alive or on assuming the Pro-Tempore Presidency of said regional mechanism, which it must exercise this 2023.
This was stated during the commemoration ceremony for the 12th anniversary of the Pacific Alliance, held at the Government Palace in the Peruvian capital, Lima.
The regional bloc —established on April 28, 2011— is made up of Peru, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.
The Head of State lamented the politicization of the bloc by one of its members, given the refusal by Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to hand over the bloc’s Pro-Tempore Presidency to Peru.
After emphasizing that Peru and Mexico are sister countries, supported by friendship ties that have united them for more than 200 years, Boluarte said AMLO’s decision affects the efforts to continue promoting greater benefits for citizens through this integration mechanism.
The top official pointed out that leaders of Pacific Alliance Member States have emerged from constitutional and democratic processes, adding that they have known how to privilege the bloc’s institutional framework and pragmatism, in order to allow its progress and consolidation.
“However, these virtues have been displaced by ideological issues nowadays that are used as an excuse to hinder the continuation and strengthening of the dynamism with which work has been carried out over the past 12 years,” she expressed.
Along these lines, President Boluarte indicated that the refusal by her Mexican counterpart has prompted the paralysis of most of the bloc’s activities. She added this fact harms not only its well-earned international prestige, but also affects the accession processes of Costa Rica and Ecuador as new members, among other actions.
Furthermore, the top official highlighted the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Ministry‘s actions to preserve the Alliance and demand Peru’s legitimate right to assume its Pro-Tempore Presidency.
“Peru will not give up on keeping the Pacific Alliance alive and exercising its Presidency; we are already doing so through the joint effort we are undertaking here in Peru,” Boluarte emphasized.
“We will not allow political alibis to undermine and weaken this successful mechanism as has happened in the past with other regional initiatives. Our countries have reached sufficient maturity and seriousness to go back in an integration process that has generated tangible results for the benefit of all our communities,” she added.
Moreover, the Head of State said she was confident that the Pacific Alliance will continue with its activities under the spirit of unity that had inspired the countries that make it up 12 years ago.
She reiterated her firm commitment to turn the integration mechanism into a determining actor on the Latin American scene and worldwide, for the benefit of citizens.
Today’s ceremony was also attended by Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Ana Cecilia Gervasi, Mexico’s former President Felipe Calderon, and Chile’s former Foreign Affairs Minister Alfredo Moreno, among other guests. — NNN-ANDINA
