Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum opens in Mexico

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - The 22nd Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) opened Monday in Mexico's southwestern city of Puerto Vallarta, with parliamentary leaders from 25 countries in the region participating.

Asia-Pacific is the most dynamic region in the world in terms of economic growth and demographic significance, said Forum Chairman and Mexican Senate President Raul Cervantes Andrade in his inaugurating speech.

The political and commercial relations of Latin America with the Asia-Pacific region are of strategic value to the countries of the Americas, as the two regions have signed over 20 trade agreements since 2004, of which about 80 percent have already been implemented, he said.

Andrade went on to say the forum will offer the opportunity to exchange successful experiences on healthy parliamentary practices to perfect the legislative work in the APPF member countries.

As Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's special representative, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal also highlighted the performance of the Asia-Pacific region's economy in recent years, stressing that it has converted economic and financial challenges into opportunities and is the engine of global growth.

Mexico has become an important manufacturing powerhouse of the world and is willing to share development experiences with Asia-Pacific countries, he said.

"Mexico seeks to promote its trade integration with the Asia-Pacific region through the forum," Villarreal said, adding that the Mexican government has set it as a priority.

The APPF is a loosely-structured and non-exclusive forum of national parliamentarians who attend either as delegates of their parliaments or in their personal capacities.

Established in Tokyo in 1993, the forum aims to promote greater cooperation among legislative bodies in the Asia-Pacific region.