ASEAN, Pacific Alliance exploring potential areas of cooperation

ASEAN and the Pacific Alliance (a regional grouping comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) met at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta yesterday to explore possible areas of cooperation that would build closer ties between the two regional organisations.

Both sides exchanged views on a broad range of issues, including current developments in Southeast Asia and Latin America, the ASEAN Secretariat said in statement today.

It said the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN (CPR) and the Ambassadors of the Pacific Alliance had a fruitful exchange of views on the structure and work process of their respective organisations.

The two sides recognise the potential benefit of forging economic ties and have agreed to explore cooperation in trade and investment, agriculture, energy, logistics, SMEs, financial services and tourism, it added. It said the meeting agreed to further explore other areas such as education, culture and sports.

The CPR also congratulated the Pacific Alliance on their remarkable achievements in terms of regional integration over the last four years since its establishment and noted the latter’s interest in better understanding ASEAN’s experiences in regional integration and community-building.

The meeting was co-chaired by Tan Hung Seng, Permanent Representative of Singapore to ASEAN, and Socorro Flores Liera, Director-General for American Regional Mechanisms and Organisms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico.