Colombia’s Finance Minister on Saturday said that the Pacific Alliance is “one voice in the development of four economies.”
Mauricio Cardenas made the statement at the conclusion of his first Pacific Alliance meeting, which was held in Chile.
The Pacific Alliance is a trade group consisting of four Latin American countries, Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico – it was created in 2012.
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Cardenas spoke positively about the talks, saying that “it is essential that the combined voice of these countries, with similar policies and a joint vision on how to develop our economies, may have these dialogues to express our views so together.”
The meeting, which took place over Friday and Saturday, saw discussion on the unilateral sharing of tax information between the member-countries, the international financial “landscape” and the inclusion of Mexico into the Latin American Integrated Market (MILA).
Alianza del Pacífico, una sola voz por el desarrollo de sus economías: MinHacienda http://t.co/Z3WPU59q22 vía @MinHacienda
— MinHacienda (@MinHacienda) August 24, 2013
On the depreciation of the Colombian Peso, the minister added “we see it as very healthy, it is correcting imbalances that had been generated and re approaches an exchange rate which has been very positive for the industrial and agricultural markets in Colombia.”
While he did concede that Colombia had “considered” halting the devaluing of the Peso, he added that the current situation had been “good for the economy.”
He also took the opportunity to reiterate the government’s intention to work with peaceful protesters throughout Colombia, but said it would be “unwilling” to negotiate with violent protesters and those blocking roads.
Sources
- Alianza del Pacífico, una sola voz por el desarrollo de sus economías: Minhacienda (El Espectador)
- Alianza del Pacífico, una sola voz por el desarrollo de sus economías: MinHacienda (Ministry of Finance)
