The Argentine government is in favour of a gradual convergence between the Common Market of the South (Mercosur) and the Pacific Alliance, said Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie at the World Economic Forum being held in the Swiss city of Davos.
Mercosur and the Pacific Alliance are destined for "the building a gradual convergence between the two mechanisms", said Faurie, according to a statement from the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
Mercosur is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela suspended, while the Pacific Alliance has Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru as members.
Paraguay, which is part of Uruguay, has bilateral free trade agreements with Chile, Colombia and Peru, and an agreement with Mexico covering 30% of trade between the two countries.
Uruguay has a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Mexico and signed another one with Chile, which has not yet been ratified, while Paraguay has expressed its desire to achieve a FTA similar to the Uruguayan one with Chile.
In the New alliances must incorporate government purchases, servertrades and investment "so that the private sector increases and diversifies trade flows," he said. Faurie.
Likewise, the two blocs must promote their respective integration, given their political, economic, commercial, demographic and territorial characteristics, the diplomat said.
Mercosur represents the fifth largest economy in the world, with a population of more than 295 million, and the Pacific Alliance is the eighth, with 225 million people.
At the High-Level Interactive Conference on Latin America in#WEF18, I highlighted the importance of convergence and integration between MERCOSUR and the Pacific Alliance. pic.twitter.com/iq22qVSSNM
— Jorge Faurie (@JorgeFaurie) January 24, 2018
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