A conference discussing opportunities and challenges in the Pacific Alliance for western Pacific countries, including Vietnam, opened in Hanoi on April 24.

According to Director of the Institute of American Studies under the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Cu Chi Loi, Latin America is a particularly dynamic region thanks to its regional economic institutions, one of which is the Pacific Alliance.

The alliance, which groups Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, is said to be the world’s eighth largest economy and places seventh in terms of export value, he said.

According to Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam Fernando Urrutia, some of the alliance’s members are, together with Vietnam, actively participating in the negotiations of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Meanwhile, Mexican Ambassador to Vietnam Gilberto Limon Enriquez said the alliance acts as an effective tool in international integration and trade liberalisation in order to forge a closer link with the Asia-Pacific.

It also drives cooperation between its members on important issues, such as the environment, climate change, science-technology and social development, he added.

Established in 2012, the Pacific Alliance aims to build an area of deep integration and increase connection with Asia-Pacific countries.

The bloc also comprises of 30 observers, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, China, the Republic of Korea, the UK and France.

Heads of state of the four founding members have signed a framework agreement to eliminate tariffs for more than 90 percent of goods traded between the bloc’s member countries.

With the signing of the document, the alliance has become a huge market with a population of 200 million people, generating a GDP of over 2 trillion USD, which accounts for 50 percent of the Latin America’s total export.-VNA