The first Summit between MERCOSUR and the Pacific Alliance took place yesterday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, bringing together the presidents of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, for the Pacific Alliance, and the presidents and representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, for MERCOSUR. Argentina's delegation was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Raimondi.
The Summit between the two blocs, which was held on the sidelines of the 13th Summit of the Pacific Alliance, concluded with the signing of the Pacific Alliance - MERCOSUR Presidential Declaration, in which the two mechanisms reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their integration and agreed to follow up on the process on a half-yearly basis with a view to reaching a Framework Free Trade Agreement.
In view of the increasing risks in global trade, the leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the preservation and strengthening of a rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and fair multilateral trading system within the framework of the World Trade Organization and to the promotion of inclusive trade.
In addition, a Plan of Action was adopted, which complements and broadens the Roadmap signed at the April 2017 Ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires, addressing issues such as regional value chains and cumulation of origin, trade facilitation, non-tariff barriers, regulatory cooperation, trade promotion and MSMEs, trade in services facilitation, digital agenda, investment, inclusive trade and gender, academic mobility, tourism, culture and people mobility.
The MERCOSUR and Pacific Alliance countries have a market of approximately 480 million people, which accounts for 87% of ALADI's population and 6% of the world's population. The two blocs also account for 90% of ALADI's GDP and 90% of ALADI's total exports to the world.
