on Tuesday ratified Peru's full commitment to actively participating in the Pacific Alliance, highlighting its advantages for the country and future potential.
"As a Government, we ratify Peru's commitment and willingness to actively participate in this Pacific Alliance that has been so important to us over the last 10 years, and in which we see a lot of potential for the future," he expressed during his participation in the
Americas Society/Council of the Americas (AS/COA) meeting.
The Cabinet member stressed that what has been achieved so far has been very important. Yet he noted that there is still room to work and help our countries with joint actions.
"Hence the importance of ratifying our commitment to the Pacific Alliance, as well as to its objectives and approaches," he said.
SMEs
On the other hand, Minister Francke affirmed that an essential issue for the advancement of the Pacific Alliance is the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and what the bloc can do for them.
"An important issue that we must consider for the development of SMEs is their basis for freedom of trade, services, as well as free movement of goods and people," he mentioned.
The high-ranking official explained that this is important especially for SMEs because these small barriers to trade (such as traveling to another country, visas, and payment system) denote a great cost for these companies.
"For a large company that small barrier cannot mean as much in terms of business volume as for an SME," Francke mentioned.
Therefore, it is important that there are no additional costs of tariffs, that functional means of payment are available, and that trade of services flows freely among countries, he added.
"We already have a base and we must strengthen it," he noted.
Pacific Alliance
Created in 2011, the
Pacific Alliance —composed of full members Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru— is an integration initiative focused on
reducing trade barriers, as well as fostering the free circulation of goods, services, capitals, and people across its territories.