The Pacific Alliance and New Zealand

This week, the Pacific Alliance, a Latin American trade and economic integration initiative composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru, convenes its ninth presidential summit, inducting several brand-new observers and officially beginning the process to induct Costa Rica as a full member. In its short life to date, the group has already taken huge steps to liberalize intra-bloc trade and relations, and its members are increasingly acting in concert in their dealings abroad. Emerging economies around the world seek to become more involved with the group, which already has 32 observers from all around the world, including New Zealand. Increasingly, the Pacific Alliance will serve as an ideal opportunity to break into resilient, stable, and diverse markets. This thought-piece explores these opportunities, highlighting New Zealand’s potential as a well-positioned partner and point-of-entry to the rest of the Asia-Pacific region.