Santiago hosts Arco Pacífico Latinoamericano forum

Santiago hosted the international forum known as Arco Pacífico Latinoamericano (APL) from October 1-3, 2008. The organization represents those Latin America countries which comprise the eastern rim of the Pacific. Thus, the Arco Pacífico Latinoamericano, or Latin American-Pacific Arch, is a Pacific Rim initiative for Latin America.

The forum concluded with the APL’s Fourth Minister’s Meeting. In attendance were representatives from 11 Latin American countries, which were also represented at the three day event. The nations reviewed the current state of trade integration, attempted to foster cooperation among its members and promote trade with the Asia-Pacific as a whole.
 
Chile’s foreign minister Alejandro Foxley presented the forum findings at a press conference in what is being termed the Santiago Declaration. Minister Foxley was accompanied by Carmen Guisela Vergara, who serves as Minister of Commerce in Panama and Beatriz Leycegui, Deputy Minister for Commerce in Mexico.

Foxley stated that the APL forum was, on the whole, a positive experience. He felt that the forum generated some important proposals to create joint investment projects.  He also highlighted member countries’ desire to improve relations with the Asia-Pacific, and the fact that China, Japan, Korea and Australia sent delegations to the forum. Minister Foxley pointed out that Canada has already requested to attend as an observer. The United States also showed interest in participating in the next Arco forum. He noted that all this interest was in addition to the endorsement of the forum by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Andean Development Corporation (Corporación Andina de Fomento).

Addressing another topic, the Chilean foreign minister called on the private sector to join forces with forum participants. “Private sector participation will mark the next stage in our Forum’s development. I say this because one of the Forum workgroups identified 72 investment projects: infrastructure such as ports, airports and roads, not to mention the concomitant energy supply. These are two areas of high priority that we should confront in tandem with the private sector. It is likely that companies, in our respective countries, will have to join forces with us.” He affirmed that this challenge would still require State funding, due to the scale of investment involved.

Panama’s minister of Commerce and Industry, Carmen Gisela Vergara, announced that her nation will host next year’s forum, to be held March 5-6. It will thus coincide with Panama’s premier tradeshow Expocomer.

Coinciding with Foxley, Minister Vergara also called on entrepreneurs to support Latin America’s Pacific Rim initiative, ensuring that "we will use the next (Arco) meeting as a forum to address issues such as access to markets, partnerships and strategies for enabling SMEs and micro-enterprises to export.” She stated that this was a “way to integrate the private sector. The private sector uses these tools which are designed by government. So they should be included in the (design process) because this will ensure this sector reaps maximum benefit vis-à-vis jobs creation and the goods and services sector.” Vergara also agreed that it is necessary to promote telecommunications and infrastructure improvements, whereas this will make the region more attractive to Asia-Pacific investment.

Finally, Vice Minister of Commerce Beatriz Leycegui, who led the Mexican delegation, said that “given the volatile times in which we live, we need more trade.” She stated that she shared too a desire to improve trade with the Asia-Pacific. As such, she favors focusing intensely and untiringly on specific projects. In light of this stance, she is pushing for greater economic integration within the region.
 
“We have all signed FTA's with each other, which are not (exactly) interconnected. Thus, we need to turn this so-called “spaghetti bowl” into what (I and others would term) the Lasagne Effect, thereby accommodating all our respective production inputs, and generating finished goods export between ourselves which will enter said markets with preferences; although we don’t have a comprehensive agreement yet.” She concluded by stating that more cooperation is needed on customs issues in order to encourage and expedite trade and that regional technolical capabilities should be improved.

The 11 countries of the Latin American Pacific arch were represented by delegations led by the following officials: Alejandro Foxley, Foreign Minister (Chile); Jaime Bermudez Merizalde, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Luis Guillermo Plata Paez, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (Colombia); Amparo Pacheco, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade (Costa Rica); Eduardo Egas, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade (Ecuador); and Ricardo Flores, Deputy Director General for Economic Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (El Salvador).
 
Other officials, part of their respective State delegations, included Lars Henrik Pira Perez, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (Guatemala); Desirée Watson, Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy in Chile (Honduras); Luz Maria de la Mora, Head of the Unit for Economic Relations and International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Beatriz Leycegui, Secretary for Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Economy (Mexico); Maria Luisa Robleto, Ambassador to Chile (Nicaragua); Carmen Gisela Vergara, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Ricardo J. Duran, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs (Panama); Mercedes Araoz Fernandez, Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, and Gonzalo Gutierrez, Secretary-General (Deputy Minister) for Foreign Affairs (Peru).