The president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, said that the economies of the countries that form the Pacific Alliance are in Latin America, the better prepared to face the global crisis.
This partnership, he stressed, is moving in the intended direction since its inception and the proof will be the entry into force of the framework agreement on 20 July.
«It is a demonstration that the way we design the alliance was correct, as a process of flexible, practical integration without the bureaucratic weight of an institution that was responsible for implementing, decisions execute them ourselves,» he said, in his Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Tenth Summit of the Pacific Alliance.
This, he said, puts the integration process as the most successful in the history of Latin America.
«I know no more successful process of integration we have achieved so far and so fast, and that has aroused much interest in the world. We have 32 observers and ten more to be approved as observers,» said Santos.
He also said that this contributes to a responsibility and a challenge in terms of the objectives to achieve and implement, deepening the integration and strengthening economies and democracies.
«We are four countries that are well positioned in front of the storm that the world is experiencing today. In Latin America we are the four economies better prepared to deal with what we are experiencing,» insisted the Colombian president.
He further stressed the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), noting that in that industry there is a lot of potential.
Santos recalled that trade between the countries of the alliance remains low, but if it can build bridges and synergies between SMEs of this economic bloc, they could grow more.