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Japan-Pacific Alliance Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (Outline)

September 27, 2012

On Wednesday, September 26 (local time), Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Koichiro Gemba held a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Pacific Alliance member countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru) during his visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. From the Pacific Alliance, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile Mr. Alfredo Moreno, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia Ms. Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mexico Ms. Norma Pensado (representing the Foreign Minister) and Head of the Multinational Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Peru Mr. Chavez (representing the Foreign Minister) participated in the meeting.

  1. 1. Minister Moreno began by expressing his gratitude for Minister Gemba’s initiative to hold the meeting. Minister Moreno went on to explain that the Pacific Alliance is aiming to integrate the economies of 4 countries by liberalizing the movement of goods, services, people and capital among them while working together to strengthen their economic relations with third countries. Minister Moreno also said that the Alliance is composed of free trade oriented countries with high rates of economic growth and the Alliance is eager to strengthen its relationship with other countries particularly Asia-Pacific countries including Japan.


  2. 2. Minister Gemba responded by saying that he was delighted to hold the meeting which had been proposed by the Pacific Alliance several times. He explained that he had already held a meeting with each one of the foreign ministers of the Alliance, and that Japan has ratified EPA with three of the four countries. Minister Gemba said Japan also reached an agreement with Colombia to begin negotiations on EPA at a summit meeting on the previous day. He said Japan is placing an importance on the Latin American market and wants to build a win-win relationship with the Pacific Alliance. Furthermore, Minister Gemba said that he would like to strengthen dialogue at political level, as well as to establish a mechanism for regular dialogues at senior officials level.


  3. 3. The representatives of the Pacific Alliance member countries welcomed the proposal of Minister Gemba to establish a mechanism for regular dialogues at senior officials level. The Pacific Alliance also reiterated their will to strengthen relations with other countries and expressed their interest in enhancing their presence in Asian countries not only on economic issues but also in the fields such as culture and gastronomy.


  4. 4. At the end of the meeting, Minister Gemba explained to the Pacific Alliance Japan’s current position in regard to Japan-China relations.
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