Singapore officially announced this Wednesday (26.01.2022/10/XNUMX) its entry as an associate state to the Pacific Alliance, becoming the first country to do so in the XNUMX years of existence of this mechanism that makes up Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.
The signing of the agreement took place at the XVI Summit of the Alliance held in Bahía Málaga, in the Colombian Pacific, and the Ministers of Trade and Foreign Ministers of the five countries involved participated in it.
In this regard, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, who participated virtually, said that the Southeast Asian country feels "honored" to become the first associated State, while celebrating that "this agreement will strengthen trade and create stronger ties" between the nations. And he urged: "Use Singapore as a gateway to take advantage of business opportunities in the region." Meanwhile, He called for “establishing more connections” to create “new opportunities with the intention of generating work and prosperity.”
In turn, the Colombian president, Iván Duque, highlighted at the summit's opening that Singapore's entry into the Alliance "gives a new impetus to a mechanism that celebrates 10 years Demonstrating that through multilateralism and private investment, well-being is generated«. The president also highlighted: «Singapore arrives with its experience, with its tradition as aone of the main centers of innovation, science and technology on the planet, with a valuable contribution to the fourth industrial revolution, but it also comes to enrich the trade and investment relationship as one of the world leaders in port logistics and foreign trade."
For its part, the Colombian Minister of Commerce Maria Ximena Lombana, stressed that the integration of Singapore This will allow for improved relations so that this part of Latin America can get closer to the Asia-Pacific region. and “consolidate ourselves as a global reference for integration.” He also assured that the arrival of Singapore, after a previous stage of four years of negotiations “with the highest standards,” responds to the objectives of the Alliance to turn it into a platform for “economic and commercial integration with Asia-Pacific.”
In addition to Iván Duque, today's summit will be attended by the presidents of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, and Peru, Pedro Castillo, as well as the Secretary of Finance of Mexico, Rogelio Eduardo Ramírez, and, virtually, the Prime Minister of Singapore.
The summit, the first of the Pacific Alliance to be held in person since 2019 due to the pandemic, also includes the participation of Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso, who hopes to conclude this year his country's entry into the bloc created in April 2011.
Colombia will hand over to Mexico the pro tempore presidency it has held since December 2020. One of Colombia's objectives in assuming that role was to complete negotiations with Singapore.
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