Potential for collaboration between Singapore and Pacific Alliance: S Iswaran
PUBLISHED ONJune 22, 2014 7:33 AM
Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Home Affairs and Trade and Industry S Iswaran highlighted the potential for more trade and investment between the countries of the Pacific Alliance and Southeast Asia during his recent visit to Mexico.
Mr Iswaran, who was in Mexico for the 9th Pacific Alliance Presidential Summit on June 19 and 20, also met with his Mexican counterpart, Minister of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo, at the sidelines of the summit. They discussed recent developments in the Singapore and Mexican economies and ways to strengthen trade and investment ties.
"There is growing interest among Singapore companies to explore opportunities in Latin America. The Pacific Alliance accounts for a third of Latin America's total population, and its combined GDP of US$3.1 trillion (S$3.87 trillion) represents about 40% of the total regional GDP," Mr Iswaran said.
"There is excellent potential for greater collaboration between Singapore and the countries of the Pacific Alliance, in sectors such as energy and minerals, logistics, and urban infrastructure."
Mr Iswaran also met senior Mexican business leaders from Minera Mexico (the mining division of Grupo Mexico); Grupo Kaluz; and Mr Carlos Slim, owner of Grupo Carso, to discuss possibilities for bilateral cooperation.
He also met with Singapore companies doing business in Mexico such as APL, Swiber and Kaybee Group.
This is the first time Singapore is participating in the Summit since it was admitted as an Observer state in February 2014. The Pacific Alliance, a four-member Latin American economic grouping comprising Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru, was formally established in June 2012 to create an integrated market of 214 million people with a combined GDP of US$3.1 trillion.
Apart from Singapore, there are currently 31 other Observer States, including the United States, China, Japan, India, South Korea, as well as various Latin American and European countries.
grongloh@sph.com.sg