LIMA, July 6 (NNN-ANDINA) — Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra affirmed the Pacific Alliance nowadays has “to be more united than ever” in order to face the current global economic situation marked by the commercial confrontation between the United States and China.
Within this framework, the Head of State noted the dispute between the “world’s two main economic powers” generates “confrontation and protectionism,” both responsible for affecting the global economy.
The statesman said that the global situation offers the opportunity to re-launch the Pacific Alliance —a trade bloc made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru— which is hosting its Presidential Summit in the Peruvian capital on Saturday.
According to the top official, it is essential that —in order to fulfill this re-launch— its members ratify the political commitment that enabled the creation of the Pacific Alliance.
“We have no other alternative but to give it the strength that this circumstance requires,” he expressed.
The President went on to add that —eight years after its creation— the Pacific Alliance cannot limit its objectives merely to commercial affairs, because there are also important challenges of other nature.
In this sense, he affirmed this integration bloc must address solutions to climate change, especially with regards to water scarcity, as it is a problem which threatens the development of member countries —especially Colombia and Peru— identified as two of the most vulnerable to that global phenomenon.
“If we do not get prepared, if we do not have a joint vision, we will not be prepared for the challenges of the future,” he stated.
The statesman also stressed that a better growth distribution must be addressed, with the aim of reducing social gaps in the alliance countries, as well as combating corruption, as this helps to ensure good governance.
“We will not be able to make joint decisions, if we are not aware of the damage corruption has done in recent years. These are the challenges, and we have to be prepared for them,” he concluded.
Remarks were made at the closing ceremony of the 14th Pacific Alliance Business Summit on Friday evening. Peru hosts the 14th Summit of the Pacific Alliance on June 1-6.
The event was also attended by Presidents Ivan Duque Colombia), Sebastian Piñera (Chile), and Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard (Mexico), who represents President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador at the meeting.
The Pacific Alliance —created in 2011— is an integration initiative focused on reducing trade barriers, as well as fostering the free circulation of goods, services, capitals, and people across its territories.
The bloc relies on observer countries and represents the eighth-largest economy in the world.
On an annual basis, the Pacific Alliance rotates the pro-tempore presidency among its members.
Peru assumed the pro-tempore presidency of the Pacific Alliance at the bloc’s summit held on July 24, 2018, in the Mexican city of Puerto Vallarta. — NNN-ANDINA
