Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 26) signed a free trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance, a bloc made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru and a combined gross domestic product of more than US$2 trillion, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Thursday. Tan Si Hui reports.
SINGAPORE: Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 26) signed a free trade agreement with the Pacific Alliance, a bloc made up of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru and a combined gross domestic product of more than US$2 trillion, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) on Thursday.
Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and his counterparts from the member states signed the free trade deal as well as a joint declaration at the 16th Pacific Alliance Summit in Colombia.
The deal is a "modern and comprehensive" agreement that complements Singapore's network of free trade agreements and builds on existing agreements that the country has with the Pacific Alliance countries, said MTI in a press release.
It will enable Singapore companies to enjoy greater market access to the Pacific Alliance, by reducing their export costs so that their goods and services can be priced more competitively, it added.
In remarks delivered virtually, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called the signing of the free trade deal and joint declaration a "landmark moment" in Singapore's partnership with the Pacific Alliance.
"Singapore is honoured to be the first Associate State of the Pacific Alliance, and the PASFTA (Pacific Alliance-Singapore Free Trade Agreement) will institutionalise and strengthen the economic links between our countries," he said.
More than 100 Singapore companies spanning diverse sectors, including trade, technology and innovation as well as infrastructure do business in Pacific Alliance countries.
Some Singapore companies in the Pacific Alliance include e-commerce giant Shopee, which launched its platform in Mexico, Chile and Colombia in 2021, as well as supply chain manager Olam International and blockchain accelerator Tribe Accelerator.
Some of the largest companies in the Pacific Alliance, such as Ecopetrol and Cemex, have also established commercial presence in Singapore, said Mr Lee.
"We hope that more companies from the Pacific Alliance will follow, and use Singapore as a gateway to uncover markets and seize business opportunities in our region," he said.
Negotiations for the Pacific Alliance free trade agreement were formally launched in 2017.
Mr Lee added that the signing of the agreement is a "strong message of hope and opportunity" as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We hope that the PASFTA will create even more opportunities for deeper economic and people-to-people ties between Latin America and Southeast Asia," he said.
