The Foreign Minister, Heraldo Muñoz, held an intense agenda on the second day of the 72nd General Assembly of the United Nations, where he accompanied President Michelle Bachelet, who delivered her speech to this community of nations this afternoon.
Among the activities of the day, the Secretary of State signed a Joint Declaration between the members of the Pacific Alliance and Spain to explore areas of cooperation such as Trade Facilitation and Promotion, Education, SMEs, Science, Technology and Innovation, among others.
"It is very good to be signing this agreement with Spain. I think it includes precisely the areas that are most important for people, such as commerce, SMEs, education", said the Secretary of State after the subscription.
"We have gone from being a successful integration model to becoming an alternative integration platform, particularly in Asia-Pacific. We have started or are about to start negotiations to reach high standard free trade agreements with countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore", he added.
Within the framework of the Assembly, the Foreign Minister accompanied President Bachelet at the high-level meeting "Oceans: a wealth of opportunities". The objective of the event was to promote international actions and partnerships to strengthen the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and marine resources.
He also attended the meeting "Partnering for Green Global Goals", which aims to create a space for innovative alliances between the private and public sectors to develop and implement solutions that support the implementation of the Paris Accord and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition to this, there was a high-level discussion on Multidimensional Poverty and Inequality in Middle-Income Countries, and the launch of the European Union-UN initiative to eliminate violence against women and girls, which will provide resources to strengthen programmes in different continents to combat this type of abuse.
The day ended with the V Pacific Alliance Investment Opportunities Forum, moderated by Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). President Bachelet, who was accompanied by Foreign Minister Muñoz, was joined by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, and Peru's Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism, Eduardo Ferreyros.