SINGAPORE: Singapore is to enter into a free trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance, comprising Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, next year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s press secretary said.
A “substantial conclusion” has been made in the agreement following three years of negotiations, Ms Chang Li Lin said.
Mr Lee Hsien Loong on Friday participated the 15th Pacific Alliance Summit via video conference, his first attendance in the annual meeting. Singapore was invited to the virtual summit as a Candidate Associate State of the alliance.
“After three years of negotiations, we have made significant progress and the Pacific Alliance-Singapore FTA has managed to reach substantial conclusion,” Ms Chang said.
“We look forward to the signing of the PASFTA next year and to the deepening of economic ties.”
In a press release issued following the summit, Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing stated that the agreement will enable greater access to the Pacific Alliance’s markets for Singapore businesses.
The Pacific Alliance is jointly the eighth-largest economy and seventh-largest exporter in the world. In 2019, Singapore’s total trade volume in goods with the alliance was amounting to S$6.1 billion and this accounted for 33.2 per cent of Singapore’s total trade in goods with Latin America.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera was the host of the summit. Colombia President Ivan Duque, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti were also among these present.
