BOGOTA, 1 May, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the members of the Pacific Alliance commemorated the 10th anniversary of the trade bloc founded by Colombia, Peru, Chile and Mexico.

Via a video conference from Bogota, Colombian President Ivan Duque, who holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, hosted his counterparts from Peru, Francisco Sagasti, and Chile, Sebastian Pinera, as well as Mexican Economy Minister Tatiana Clouthier.

Duque said, "Over the next 10 years, we hope that a roadmap will emerge, where markets are more integrated, trade grows, investment becomes more dynamic and, above all, the free movement of people takes place."

"To the extent that we facilitate companies in our member countries to issue debt and bonds in the respective markets, we not only diversify their diversification instruments, but also generate a regulatory culture and good corporate governance," Duque added.

With the anniversary of the bloc taking place amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Duque proposed "that we seek shared solutions to the production, packaging and commercialization of vaccines and that we can seek spaces for co-investment for that purpose, since this pandemic is going to last much longer than we all anticipated."

However, the Chilean President asserted, after the Pacific Alliance was created, several countries expressed an interest in becoming associate members or observers, the Chilean president recalled.