 Good afternoon everybody. Welcome to the wonderful IIEA webinar marking the 10th anniversary of the Pacific Alliance. I want to thank the IIEA very particularly for inviting me to be part of this very select gathering of experts about the Pacific Alliance and experts on their own countries, the ambassadors from Columbia, current president of the Pacific Alliance, Ambassador Professor Cortez, Miguel Malfalvón, the ambassador of Mexico to Ireland, Ambassador Ana Maria Sanchez de Ríos, ambassador of Peru to Ireland, and ambassador Carla Serasi, ambassador of Chile to Ireland. And my dear friend and colleague, director general Brian Lynn, who is currently director for Latin for the Americas in the European External Action Service. This is a very special occasion, and I'm delighted to facilitate the discussion, which I think you will find immensely interesting. The order of today is straightforward. Those of you who are familiar with these excellent IIEA webinar events, we shall have a series of presentations from very informed guests. Brian Lynn shall kick off for the External Action Service, and then Siri Atom, each ambassador, Ambassador Cortez as president of the Pacific Alliance shall speak first, followed by Mexico, Peru and Chile, giving their unique perspectives on the importance of the Pacific Alliance for regional cooperation and global well-being and security. Brian, obviously, we give us the perspective of the importance of the Alliance for the foreign policy of the European Union in the region, and the opportunity that represents for Ireland to engage even further through this dynamic new network. The house rules here are slightly changed, because now the IIEA, which has thrived on confidential and chaplain house in-house discussions pre-COVID-19, but as we have moved online, we have required these to be more public events, and necessarily there is no off the record of chaplain house rules apply. Therefore, we would ask speakers to identify who they are and to know that this is a public event, and they should reflect on that in their comments and remarks. We will invite you and really encourage you to ask your questions through the chat function, and I will be happy to offer your questions and reflections to the speakers in the questions and answers session toward the end. So we hope a good mixture, 50-50 at least, of presentation and question and dynamic dialogue. My hope at the end of this session is that you will be enthused about the wonderfully talented ambassadors we have from the Pacific Alliance here in Ireland, and that you would consider engaging more directly and supporting Ireland's burgeoning and developing relationship with the region, be you a business person, student, a diplomat or tourist looking for an amazing post-COVID visit to the region, which is a fascinating part of the world. Without further ado, I would like to invite Ambassador Brian Lynn, our former ambassador in Brazil and currently Director General of the External Action Service to present his reflections on the Pacific Alliance, and ambassadors with your permission, I shall introduce you individually before your presentations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, Barbara. I'd very much like to thank the organizers, the Institute and the four embassies for inviting me to this event. This is my first trip to Ireland since Christmas, and of course it has to be a virtual one, or I would have spent 14 days in a hotel, looking forward to having a real visit to Ireland to see you and the colleagues in the summer time when everything will be better for us all. I'm delighted to be with you today to discuss relations between the European Union and the Pacific Alliance. My sincere congratulations, first of all, to the Pacific Alliance on its 10th anniversary and to the ambassadors of the four countries. My congratulations also to the Institute as it celebrates its 30th birthday next month. The EU High Representative Joseph Purrell has also delivered a message on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Pacific Alliance, and he made reference to the EU's close ties to the Alliance, and I kindly ask the technical team to share this short video with you now. The European Union has a great friendship and deep historical, cultural and economic ties with the four countries that make up the Alliance, from Chile, from Colombia, from Peru and from Mexico. From Europe, we share the vision of the Alliance on regional integration, open trade and sustainable growth. There is a common goal of taking advantage of the framework of the joint declaration between the European Union and the Alliance to achieve green and digital transition in the benefit of both regions. We hope that our cooperation contributes to making the Pacific Alliance even more Atlantic. Have a good one and thank you very much. Welcome to both regions and where can we go from here? Why is the Alliance important for us? Well, it's proven its worth as a successful regional integration initiative over the past decade. Principally, it's gone further than others in the region in taking concrete steps to advance regional integration. It's been a goal of ambition on establishing a regional digital market, greening its economy and mainstreaming gender across the policy agenda to name just a few examples. I think regional initiatives is not an easy endeavour when governments need to cope with a difficult agenda at home, socially and economically, or when faced with the perfect storm created by the COVID pandemic. So far, the Pacific Alliance has shown great resilience and an ability to place common interest and pragmatism above political affinity. It's not surprising that it has attracted significant international attention. For the EU as a whole, the Pacific Alliance is one of our closest and most like-minded partners in Latin America. It gathers four of the countries with which the EU has very strong ties. The agreements that the EU has in place with all of them are an expression of mature political and economic relations. From an economic point of view, and I think this is something that is worth stating, the four countries represent 50% of the EU's total trade with Latin America and the Caribbean. And the Pacific Alliance is also an important destination for investment concentrating more than a third of the region's FTI flow. Beyond the sum of the relations we have with its members, the Pacific Alliance is a key partner at a time when other major regional initiatives are stalled. Here, I'd mentioned the fact that we've not been able to have an EU-Sealax summit in six years, for example. So we have adopted a flexible approach and the European Union is deepening its relations with those regional groups that are willing and able to step up engagement on shared goals. And the Pacific Alliance is one of those. So what can this partnership bring? The potential for cooperation that was mentioned by the high representative has been a driver of the joint declaration that the EU and the Alliance signed in 2019 under the Peruvian pro-temporary presidency of the Alliance. And it helped place the spotlight on a number of areas and offered a stronger framework for future engagement. The cooperation was endorsed by all EU member states, out of which 20 are observers to the Pacific Alliance, and I know Ireland hopes to become the 21st observer of the Pacific Alliance. And although it's not yet developed to its full capacity, cooperation with EU countries is increasing and events such as the Cooperation Forum, which was held last November, fueled this dialogue. This is the potential for the EU and the Pacific Alliance to join forces for building back better our economies after the COVID pandemic. Unfortunately, as we know the COVID crisis has hit Latin America harder and longer than anywhere else in the world, and the Pacific Alliance countries are not sheltered from that. And they've suffered profound damages that will take many years to repair. In the last EU, Latin America carried the administrative meeting that the Pacific Alliance countries attended in Berlin of last year. There was a clear shared ambition to work together towards a sustainable recovery. And this involves common efforts making our economies greener and more digital. And unsurprisingly those two priorities, green and digital, are also driving the EU Pacific Alliance cooperation. As part of digital transformation, we can work together on leveling the playing field for digital companies and investors by harmonizing rules for the digital market, and by adopting common standards. We can also discuss how to make the most of new opportunities for digitalizing government services for having more secure online environments. Also, how to close the digital divide and to address digital poverty. To use experience in building our own single digital market can also be valuable for the Pacific Alliance as it progresses with its own digital integration plans. And we're happy to see that the Pacific Alliance is ready to launch its own digital strategy, and we're ready to support its implementation at technical level. We've been established already between our teams of experts in the digital field. They're hoping to dive deeper on issues like digital government, electronic identification, cybersecurity or platforms regulation. And with the Pacific Alliance and more broadly with the Latin America Caribbean region cooperation on digital these issues is easier than it is with other parts of the world. In a way of seeing digital transformation, it needs to serve our people and also, of course, to respect our values. The second area that we can achieve a significant progress is on the green transition. The Pacific Alliance countries are key partners for the EU in the push towards a green and sustainable development plan. We're home to impressive biodiversity as we know and have enormous potential for renewable energies and natural resources. We can and should do more on the multilateral front by working together towards ambitious commitments in the global multilateral framework on climate and the environment. Building convergence between us will be on the agenda ahead of the important events later this year, including the COP on climate change. Thank you very much, Brian. I'm very sad to say that as you were moving to your future agenda and your stream has been lost by us and Patricia with your permission. I wish to continue our discussion and move now to introduce you to my to the audience, which is extensive. Pastor Patricia Cortez Ortiz is an accomplished diplomat director for the Americas, an expert on matters to do with Venezuela and served in the flagship Colombian Embassy in Washington DC. A great friend of Ireland, she holds the distinction of being the first resident ambassador of Colombia, having been designated as such by her late late. Patricia, I hand you the floor as chair of the Pacific Alliance to address our audience. Thank you very much. Thank you Barbara. I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all of you at the IAEA, who help us making this event come together to as well to express my gratitude our gratitude to high representative Joseph Porel for this his words, of course to Ambassador Brian Glyn, to Ambassador to you, Ambassador Barbara Jones and my colleague ambassadors of Mexico crew and Chile in this panel and to all the audience who are attending. This event is a clear example of the IAEA's global vision and its engagement with the different regions around the world, and a way to enrich the debate on the opportunities for Ireland at the international level. In this week, we commemorate 10 years of existence of the Pacific Alliance or Alianza del Pacífico. We are very proud that today's discussion is part of this aggression in our global approach. We'll start off by highlighting why the Pacific Alliance has been the most successful the story of integration in Latin America in the last decade, and the opportunities of engagement for observable states and of course with the European Union. The Pacific Alliance started in 2011 with a pragmatic vision, outward looking and very ambitious goals for integration of the four member countries, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. We all share principles and values on democracy, rule of law, respect for human rights, economic openness, respect for multilateralism, we work based on our consensus decision making. We all have a coast in the Pacific Ocean, that's why our name comes from, and we all have a free trade agreement among us. The main goal has been moving towards the free movement of goods, services, capital and people. In our 10 year celebration, the Pacific Alliance is working in deepening its current integration, being more open to our citizens, becoming more global, and fostering connections and entrepreneurship as part of our strategic vision for the future. The Alliance is that dynamic initiative to attract foreign investment, create export platforms for the global market with high potential and business projection with competitive advantages for international businesses. Miguel Malfabon, the Mexican ambassador will develop further on this topic. To promote further growth, development and competitiveness. We also focus on achieving greater well being overcoming social economic inequality, and promoting social inclusion among us by fostering people to people connections, studies changes, sustainable tourism, entrepreneurship, based on cooperation among the member states and observer states as well. So as the IIA, they can present the first slide please. As you can see why the Pacific Alliance has cut out the attention of the world. Well, I think there are this information gives you the idea of the reason. More countries of the group represent the eighth economy in the world, more than 40% of the GDP in Latin America and the Caribbean. In 2019 56 million tourism per year we receive in the countries of the Pacific Alliance, and of course on the size of our inhabitants 233 million by 2019. Thank you. You can take this slide. Thank you. Currently there are 59 observer states from all continents. More than 20 countries from the European Union, 26 OECD countries, including the US, the UK, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and also Asian countries such as China, India, South Korea, just to name a few. They all share the principles and the objectives of the Pacific Alliance. Director Ryan Gleane is what it was explaining and will explain further. The Pacific Alliance has a special relationship with the European Union in which we recognize the support of the EU countries. We also have an engagement with ASEAN, and we are working on a re-engagement with the APEC economies. Currently there are six candidates in the category of associate member, which are Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Korea, Singapore, and Ecuador. Ecuador is also at the prospect of becoming full member of the Pacific Alliance, which is conditioned to the outcome of the current negotiations. For years, the Pacific Alliance has adopted key measures to promote regional integration, including significant advances in the liberalization of trading goods and 92% off tariffs, the creation of a joint platform for the stock markets, joint diplomatic and trade markets, particularly in Asia, free movement of people among our countries, numerous social achievements such as the Alliance Scholarship Program, and nine shared embassies schemes. We have a concrete example here of the Pacific Alliance in Dublin, as Colombia opened its embassy in 2018 as part of a sharing agreement with Mexico under the Pacific Alliance. Please present the second slide. We are working currently in very areas, I just name a few, but they range from trade facilitation, customs, finance, tourism, cooperation, environment, mobility of people, gender equality, education, digital agenda, and many others that I highlighted it. All our governments are fully involved in implementing the specific goals and the working plan on the Pacific Alliance in this. The Peruvian ambassador and the Chilean ambassador will develop further in advancing of the advances on these areas later in this panel. Thank you. In terms of promotion agencies, we hold on an annual basis a business matchmaking event, a foreign entrepreneurship, a tourism matchmaking event, a high level business meeting parallel to presidential summit, which this year will take place in Colombia as we currently hold the pro-temporary presidency. Besides the full involvement of the governments, we also count on the Pacific Alliance Business Council with presence of key companies from the four member states. And this console provides recommendations to the governments in a range of topics. We also have the support of international organizations for the implementation in our areas of work such as the Inter-American Development Bank, IDV, the UN Economic Mission for Latin American Decoridian Effect, the Development Bank of Latin American Calf, and the OECD as well. The Pacific Alliance engagement with observer states is mainly through cooperation or collaboration projects of mutual interest such as digitalization, SMEs and entrepreneurship, sustainable tourism, vocational education and training, and gender equality among others. We hold a cooperation forum and with between the member states and the observer states and we are working in defining wider sources of financing and developing innovative modalities of corporations. Ireland is not yet an observer state of the Pacific Alliance since it has not requested but we understand there is a possible progress on that decision. For the time being the cooperation could be all the work with the Pacific Alliance could be directed through the European Union and the Pacific Alliance scheme. Given the global Ireland initiative, we are convinced that the Pacific Alliance would be a fantastic opportunity for Ireland in terms of the diversification, the engagement in economic and social cooperation between Ireland and the member countries of the Pacific Alliance who share the same values. Thank you so much Barbara and all of you. Thank you very much. It's quite clear that this is a subject very dear to your heart the enthusiasm. There I say it diplomatic passion that I hear for the vision and the founding vision and the expansion of this wonderful integration network it comes right through so thank you for that. I know that as I introduced my dear friend Miguel Malfavon, the same enthusiasm that I saw in Mexico, and the Pacific Alliance actually held one of its meetings in Porta Vallarta when I was ambassador there very recently. Well, it's a great pleasure to be passing the floor to you colleagues on the call I would say we have amongst us one of the best known ambassadors in Mexico as former deputy chief of protocol and very active in the presidency and the presidential establishment of the United States of So Miguel Malfavon is the name that gets you through the doors. Everybody knows him and respects him and why not only is he a very, very, very, very good friend of Ireland, which makes it very special to us, but also it means that he is a distinguished diplomat. We see that in service which range from multilateral assignments in Geneva, right through to Sweden, South Africa. So the experience that you have brought Miguel to your assignment here in Ireland I'm sure we will now see reflected in your presentation, you have the floor Miguel. Thank you Barbara. Thank you very much for that very warm presentation. I would like to thank also the certainly the IEA for for this opportunity to talk about the Pacific Alliance as one of the most significant trading blocks in the world. I would like just to go a little bit further on the comments made by my colleague Patricia Cortez from from Colombia. In science, it's an initiative of regional integration that it's moving, gradually, but in a very continuously way towards a free mobility of goods, services, resources, and people. This is a region open for business. And it's in a very short period of time, since its conception, it has actually achieved a very, very, very degree of success. Let me try to put it in perspective. In 2016, 16, five years ago, members, member countries of the Alliance adopted an agreement on cutting tariffs on 92% of their common trade. The remaining 8% of those goods will be faced out in the following years, according to pre certain pre pandemic figures together. The four members of the Pacific Alliance represent 40% of Latin Americans GDP with relatively modest growth 2.8%. We can see it on the first slide that I have over there. These four countries count mainly for the 53% of Latin Americans total foreign trade. Even though the Alliance has primarily looked into economic integration, it has also found itself strengthening connections with the rest of the world. Certainly a core objective of the Pacific Alliance, and probably this is what distinguishes from other regional integration processes in Latin America, is that it serves as a platform for economic and commercial cooperation with other regions as well. It is true that the Alliance itself, its initial goal was to increase competitiveness in addition to seeking expanded trade with the Asia Pacific region. We were looking into creating a regional gateway to Asia, but soon through our extensive free trade network, we realized that actually the Alliance could also go further and reach out to other regions. With North America, for example, we have a long standing relationship, increasing collaborations and connections with Europe, and particularly the European Union. The Alliance have reformed their interest in a stronger relationship, providing a solid foundation for talks between the two groups. As Brian mentioned before, Memoranda of Understanding and Joint Declarations have been signed in order to provide a framework to strengthen cooperation and dialogue for the coming years. This dialogue has already identified multiple areas of common interest, where there is a clear potential to deepen cooperation. Such areas include regional economic and financial integration, digital strategies, the fight against climate change and the promotion of green growth, the facilitation of movement of people, but also as well innovation, science and technology. But what is the relevance of the Pacific Alliance for Ireland as an economic partner? We can see it in the following slide. The Pacific Alliance represents an opportunity for Irish trade diversification. According just to the last year figures from 2020, 70%, two thirds of Ireland's foreign trade with Latin America, it's concentrated in these four countries. The region, one of the main strengths of this region is precisely our manufacturing capacity. You can see 80% of the manufacturers produced in Latin America are exported by members of the Pacific Alliance. The data of bilateral flows of trade in goods, both at the product and sector level, together with the study of trade in services as well as direct foreign investment, reflect that there is economic complementarity between Ireland and the countries that form part of the Pacific Alliance. There is a big possibility open for developing, producing and generating value chains in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, machinery, medium and high manufacturing, agrofruits, organic products, chemical sectors, ITCs, etc. Let me just finish by saying that members of the Alliance have human capital and with a young and talented workforce. We are open economies in a very competitive environment and growing fast. The region is transforming itself. The Alliance has the perfect opportunity for Ireland to build breaches between our two regions. Thank you. Thank you very much, Miguel. Great image. Bridges, not walls. We're all bridge builders and what a lovely image to conclude on. Brian Glyn, our Director General for Europe is back online, but because he's such a brilliant ambassador, he is suggesting Ana Maria that we would defer to you as our next speaker and he will be our final resume speaker. And that is entirely appropriate because the ambassador of Peru has distinguished former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Peru, a distinguished ambassador to Ireland has joins the stellar colleagues with extensive diplomatic achievements. And in one case, Ana Maria, if I may, as a feminist and a woman diplomat, salute the fact that you are an exemplar of being those very special women who are firsts. So you were the first female career diplomat in Peru to be appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. And we treasure that in Ireland, because it's a great inspiration for other women diplomats that we might follow in your footsteps. And thank you so much for joining us today and to offer your perspective of Peru's commitment and vision for the future development of the Pacific Alliance. Thank you, Ana Maria. Thank you Barbara for your warm introduction. Thank you for the opportunity for us. In recent years, digital economy integration has become a fundamental element to continue the progress of the deep integration strategy of the Pacific Alliance. In 2016, in Puerto Varajile, the Pacific Alliance for the Digital Agendas Group, to build a roadmap that could reduce the digital divide between the member states. This was in accordance with the telecommunication and electronic commerce chapters of the commercial protocol of the Pacific Alliance. The roadmap was jointly built with the private sector and presented during the following summit held in 2017 in Cali, Colombia. The Cali Summit also saw the creation of the Digital Agenda Group to promote the construction of a regional digital market. And then in 2018, during the summit in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the president approved the strategic vision for 2030, with a view to make the Pacific Alliance more integrated, more global, more connected, and more cities and oriented, with the achievable targets in line with the United Nations sustainable development goals. Joining a more connected Pacific Alliance, the country members are seeking that citizens and companies be digitally connected through more effective channels of communication. Then the Pacific Alliance will consolidate a digital regional market by 2030, incorporating ICT in its production processes, thereby closing the digital divide and achieving a world-class infrastructure to facilitate, encourage, and protect investments. This will also motivate a greater need for human capital trained in the use of new technology. For example, boosting the presence of software developers in the total population in member states, which is currently between 0.09% and 0.23%, considerably behind OECD learns. Therefore, the scarce supplies of specialized human capital for the digital economy in the Pacific Alliance represents an area right for growth and development in the digital field. Although the pandemic halted much of the economic and social activities, it's also accelerated processes of technological implementation and recent innovation in the digital sphere, such as electronic commerce, telework, and teleeducation. These are all being considered in the deliberation in progress within the Pacific Alliance. During the last summer, held in Chile in 2020, the president agreed on the need to implement the roadmap for the Pacific Alliance Regional Digital Market, with a vision to create an enabling environment for the change of goods, products, and services through media, while promoting the digital economy in member countries to generate new sources of growth and productivity. The strategy of the roadmap of the Regional Digital Market consists of three points. The first is to develop a more robust digital infrastructure. This implies accelerating the development and adoption of high speed networks, improving regional interconnection, harmonizing rooming, reaching more places by promoting the inclusion and deployment of new protocols that allow the connection of more devices. The second is to improve regulation by reducing barriers to electronic commerce, improving technical and legal interoperability, promoting only trust, privacy, data protection, and cybersecurity, as well as analyzing the importance of intellectual property and trade facilitation in the digital environment. The third is to develop the digital economy by identifying gaps in entrepreneurship, motivating electronic commerce, supporting the industry in the use of new technology, and incentivizing the incorporation of women and the generation of talent and digital skills. Next Friday, on the occasion of the 10th year anniversary of the Pacific Alliance, the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, in his capacity as President Pro Tempori, will launch the Regional Digital Market Roadmap. That's demonstrating the political commitment present at the highest level for its execution. Then member countries will identify the areas of work that need to receive cooperation for the observer, states, and international organizations. Thank you. Thank you very much, Annemarie, and I really do welcome the presentation of the range and the depth of the work that is underway and how exciting that President Duque in his capacity as President of the Office will be launching that next week. We should look out for it and make sure that all of us tweet and make sure that it gets good attention here as a follow up, and we do want to encourage in the IEA people to be using their online platforms to publicize this event and your great work and your country's great work to promote regional integration. Carla, it is a great honor to introduce to the audience our ambassador to Ireland of Chile. Extensive experience as a diplomat is the price of entry to this exclusive club today. I think in your case, Carla, your experience as a multilateralist is what stands out, an expert on the issues of multilateralism based on your time in UN, in New York and in Geneva, and then in the Organization of American States in Washington DC. Before you did all this diplomacy stuff, you were a journalist and we're delighted to see that you have a master in public administration from our favorite university in Boston, the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, very close to our hearts, the Kennedy's because of the association with Westbridge where I'm not sitting today but normally do sit remote working, but very, very pleased to hand the floor to Carla and to get the perspective of Chile, where we have recently opened to our new embassy in Santiago de Chile with our brilliant Ambassador Brian Paul Gleason and his team there. So delighted to hear the perspective of Chile. Carla, you have the floor. Thank you Barbara and our appreciation to IEA for this great opportunity. Thanks to Brian Gleason and my colleagues in the Ambassador of Columbia, Mexico and Peru. The Pacific Alliance has working in strategic areas that have brought multiple benefits with citizens. I will address four of them, gender, environment, education and academic mobility. First the gender technical group which was created during 2015 aiming to include gender perspective as a cross pattern element within the work of the Pacific Alliance. For that several tools were created. Also during the last six years they have been working in successful initiatives. They have been working with the Pacific Interpreneurs Community which has promoted the economic empowerment of women. This virtual space is allowing them to connect directly and explore opportunities, exchange relevant information to strengthen their business and leadership skills through online events and services. They use the connect America's platform created by the IBB to be in touch. To Southern business women also participated in a study called radiography of the participation of women entrepreneurs in front trade, which provided valuable information on their potential and the barriers they face in their activities. An update of this study has been developed to better understand how the pandemic is affecting them. During the last summit held in Santiago, Chile, the presentation of declaration on gender equality was signed, accompanied by a roadmap for the autonomy and economic empowerment of women of DPA. It was underway on an implementation work plan for this roadmap to initiate concrete actions through the adoption of policy policies and joint actions with the technical bodies of the block, the private sector, strategic partners and international organizations. The government and green growth technical group, which was created in 2016 with the objective of building a space for dialogue between governments and the private sector for the development and implementation from an agenda that promotes sustainability in the alliance and leads actions towards green growth, considering the characteristics and reality of each country. The workshops and seminars have been organized. Also, the subgroup on measuring reporting verification has been doing strategic work on climate change. First slide please. In 2018, the president signed a presidential declaration on sustainable plastic management, committing to work on initiatives towards integrating management of plastic. Furthermore, at the summit in 2020, the president signed a roadmap towards sustainable plastic management, aim to implement that presidential declaration through adoption of joint actions with the private sector, strategic partners and international organization. The group is developing an implementation work plan for this roadmap. Thank you. You can take the slide. The next group is the international technical group, which is aims to strengthen the ties of education integration through cooperation, focus on improving the competencies of the citizens and their access to quality education. Next slide please. We have prioritized effort in technical vocational education in accordance with the agendas of the member states. Since 2014, they have been working on developing human capital and both productivity and competitiveness, with a view to overcome socio-economic inequality and advancing on social inclusion policies. Some relevant progress that typically in this area includes communication campaigns, as the one that you can see in the slide to has the value of technical vocational education. Also, the PA has been working in generating regional cooperation mechanisms among this member to establish a common reference for students and future labor mobility based on the progress made in the ongoing construction of a Pacific Alliance qualifications framework. There is also an interesting instrument repository for practices, which is a compilation of examples of what is working well within the Alliance. Thank you. Next slide please. In the current scenario of the pandemic, the focus has been on cooperation work. Leading the implementation of the project and strengthening the digital competencies of teachers and school principals in elementary education, and also the Pacific Alliance English Network. The first project tends to strengthen the skills, capacities of teachers and principals in the mediated use of digital technologies through the online educational work. To be able to advance and create innovative options in the process of integral development and learning of students in the current COVID-19 emergency, and also working strategies to face possible new situation of subsequent confinement. The second project is focused on developing an English strategy with the regional mechanism. Last year was organized the first meeting with the collaboration of the British Council Office in Chile and the ITV. Two workshops were held. One focus on the challenges of English language public policies at school and higher education levels, and another on the challenges identified to develop a cooperation strategy in this area. And finally, the student academic mobility platform was launched in 2013. It is one of the most successful experience of the PA. Its main objective is to contribute to the formation of human capital through the academic exchange of undergraduate and doctoral students, as well as teaching staff and researchers from higher education institutions. Each year, 400 scholarships are awarded, 100 for each country. To date, more than 3,000 have participated with the years 2021 being an exceptional year due to the pandemic, which has led to suspending and cancellations due to the closing borders. The platform promotes decentralization and equal opportunities for all young people in our countries, and it's very commendable that the majority of women and students from regions, not just capitals as you just saw in the slide, have participated in the program. Over the last 30 years, more than 400 universities have joined an important partnership have been established among these institutions. These are some of the main Pacific Alliance initiatives in direct benefits of the citizen that we wanted to share with you and women available in case you need additional information. Thank you Barbara. Wow, I mean it was an amazing outreach in terms of the broad sweep into civic society. Definitely a very important democratic basis for the work of the governments going forward. Now I'm going to with before we turn to questions and answers Brian, I'm going to cycle back to Brussels and to give you the opportunity for for give us the opportunity to to hear from you as you move towards the final section of your presentation. Thank you Brian. Thank you very much Barbara. I think it's the golden rule of our times is if you mentioned digital transformation in the previous sentence, your connection will go in the next so apologies for that. It's probably quite useful actually that the colleagues and masters in Dublin have been able to put some flesh on the bones of what I was talking about. And you can all see for yourselves that this is, this is a body of substance, and it's one that the European Union wants to do more with. I really only had one point that I wanted to make to conclude in the where we go next and it's essentially about deeper political engagement with Pacific Alliance. Last year we had an opportunity to have a first meeting at senior officials level, and we had great plans to ensure that there would be a ministerial meeting that of course couldn't happen because of COVID. So using the phrase appended to every aspiration in 2020 2021 when circumstances permit. We're looking forward to having a real ministerial engagement between higher representative and the ministers of foreign affairs of the Pacific Alliance. As I said at technical level, we've achieved some good progress since we signed the declaration. But we're now working together with the Columbia Pro Temporary Presidency to take more initiatives forward. Maybe then in conclusion, we're in an international context that we all know is very difficult. What we've stated our mission is to be seen as a global actor and a reliable partner. And that requires us to seek out partnerships such as the one we have with Pacific Alliance, but we're not doing this out of altruism or philanthropy. It's a partnership that we value but it's also a partnership that needs to be further nourished. We all know the challenges we face as we navigate our way out of the current pandemic and the necessity for us all to ensure that the next recovery is a green recovery. So one thing that we do know is that we we can't achieve those ambitious goals alone, and we need partners like the Pacific Alliance. So deepening our political dialogue and our political engagement with Pacific Alliance will definitely help us to realize the true potential of the partnership. And speaking with my EU hat on, I very much look forward to Ireland joining the other 20 EU member states who are observers to the Alliance and look forward to working in close partnership with you all and happy to answer any questions. Thank you very much Brian it's very kind of you I will never use the word DT ever again on online when I'm working with colleagues on such an important discussion. So I've learned another thing from you about the magic words to avoid, but on the point about the opportunity for Ireland. James McIntyre who succeeded you as director for the Americas in the Department of Foreign Affairs was breathing me over the weekend and he highlighted the very firm in our overarching policy strategy for global our global foreign policy, that we are to become to apply to become an observer member of the Pacific Alliance and I think that that is certainly something colleagues in Dublin today you have simulated by your passionate presentation and very comprehensive presentations of the, the breadth and the depth of the ambition, and how how much work is underway, which is directly relevant to the values and interests of Ireland as an EU member status Brian mentions. We have a very, very little time for questions because, and there are many, and I wanted to beg the audience of the indulgence therefore by selecting just to, and I want to ask all ambassadors to be brief and to comment. As you wish on this, one relates to the sort of echoing Brian's description of the foreign policy relationship and political engagement, to ask you, how would you characterize the opportunity for the Pacific Alliance with the Biden administration. Would you like to take that question, lead off. And really brief, is it is it is it a positive is it is it going to, is it going to be a positive factor do you think in the future planning. And I think the US actually was one of the first countries to be to apply for for the status as an observer status, and the way of the engagement is being through of again as there's a cooperation there are some particular areas I understand there were with a strong focus on the on the on the trade and economy as all of our countries actually we have a free trade agreement with the US and, and then some of the areas of trade facilitation. I think there is a, I think in the general their relationship of course and it's been what we try to focus is a bipartisan relationship so the engagement actually of the countries with the Pacific Alliance is not only with the government as well with the US Congress. So we really hope to that there are so many opportunities for example an environment there's a strong focus of course what we will see on the general in not only the US around the world on the environment, and we are working strongly on those areas so those. There will be of course many, many opportunities there but as I say we've been there's already a current work going on. Thank you very much Patricia do any of the other colleagues want to comment on that point. Just briefly. Thank you Barbara. I think that I mean the Biden administration has made it quite clear from the very beginning that they are coming back to the multilateralism. And certainly, this is one of the areas not only also very extensive system of sectors and social issues, labor issues, sustainability. There are many other areas that where we can work together and certainly I think that there is a very, very positive trend for Latin America and for the relation between the two regions. Thank you very much. And I asked people to comment on the question of obviously we're seeing a lot of government government underpinning to the vision. Francis Jacob is asking here is, is there a parliamentary tier to the cooperation between your countries in the Pacific Alliance, and Maria would like to comment. Parliamentary cooperation as a as part of the work plan of the Pacific Alliance. Barbara, if I may. Yes, please. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Actually in the Pacific Alliance, there is an interparliamentary like commission that is, let's say it's not part of the framework as such it's not like the government framework of the council. But at the same time there is like a business council there is like an interparliamentary way. It doesn't mean that within the Pacific Alliance we have a parliament. No, no, I mean it's that's that's different, but they're actually an interparliamentary commission and they do follow up from the from the four countries on what we are engaged in the different areas of cooperation. I don't know if my colleagues may like to. The second part of that question as well was how it engages with your a lot. And I think I can, I can come in here you're a lot is essentially the main parliamentary body that operates on an EU C lack basis so in other words it's the European Parliament with all the C lack countries. So there is, there's already that overarching. But I don't think that the parliamentary commission, this intermarked parliamentary commission that Patricia has mentioned has a specific connection with your last yes, but the Pacific Alliance is of course a an organization that is it in growth mode. And 10 seconds on the, the US relationship. As I also covered that in my role here, the year the United States has said that it sees the European Union as its partner, our first resort. We've already had Secretary of State Lincoln attending the Foreign Affairs Council we have an EU US summit taking place in June. And all of the things that mark the relationship or market closeness of the relationship are being put back together again in the first semester. And one of the areas on which we are having very close contact with the new administration is how we can work together with our partners in Latin America, particularly in the area of strengthening democracy. Thank you. Thank you very much Brian and certainly this is really the key challenge facing our world is that as we as we look into the future of COVID-19 to see the immense challenge on the economic front and the immense challenge in terms of trust in our governments that the pandemic creates but also the fragile state of democracy in the world. So I really want to conclude in this regard with the personal reflection having had the great honor of being non resident ambassador to Peru and Columbia. When I was resident ambassador in Chile is to to really really commend the leadership of your governments, when it will be easy to in these days to turn inwards and to think only around our borders and and our walls, and our individual needs and assert national nationalism over interdependence to be here today celebrating one of the most successful initiatives for regional integration in the world. In the teeth of this storm seems to me a great beacon of hope in our shared commitment as as Ireland with all of your countries. Chile, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico as a European Union state and a belief in the power of diplomacy, the power today illustrated a public diplomacy to explain our democratic goals and ambitions of our countries. And it does remind me as I listened to you and learn so much ambassadors about the depth of the practical in this vision. And it is very much Robert Schumann, as we think of the IIA 30 years in existence, the founding vision of Schumann after the war in Europe was in asserting that peace and solidarity was a practical thing. It's a very practical thing, peace and and practical expression for citizens as we heard economically as Miguel said, politically as Patricia outlined, and as Ana Maria demonstrated in the transformational technology of the digital, how practical and how inspiring this vision is. I want to thank on behalf of the IIA and all of the membership who have joined here today and the public who have joined us for the unique initiative of joining together with four brilliant ambassadors in our diplomatic corps in Dublin representing the Pacific Alliance to do a novel event, which I think has enriched us all. And as somebody who loves not only appreciates the relationship with Latin America, but loves the relationship between the European Union and Latin America. And in your careful hands of Vice President Forrell, advised by Brian Lynn, and my team in DFA and Dr. James Confergal and all the team to thank you most profoundly for your leadership and your efforts today to cast a light on one of the most important regional cooperation initiatives and not properly valued, but much better valued because of your leadership today. So Patricia and Miguel and Ana Maria and Carla, thank you so much and thank you Brian too, and to the team in the IIA on your behalf I give them thanks as well. I hope everybody keeps safe and that we're looking forward to much better days in all of our countries post COVID-19. Thank you very much everybody. See you again soon. Bye bye.