Forum for East Asia-Latin
America Cooperation

FEALAC was established as an inter-governmental forum in 1999 at the proposal of then Prime Minister of Singapore Goh Chok Tong and Chilean President Eduardo Frei, with the intention of promoting exchange and strengthening relations between East Asia and Latin America. The forum revolves around Foreign Ministers' Meetings held roughly once every two years, a Senior Officials' Meeting, and three Working Groups (WG), namely (1) the Politics, Culture and Education WG, (2) the Economy and Society WG and (3) the Science and Technology WG.

The three Foreign Ministers' Meetings held to date (in Chile in 2001, the Philippines in 2004 and Brazil in 2007) have resulted in the adoption of the Framework Document, the Manila Plan of Action, and the Brasilia Ministerial Declaration and Programme of Action, which outline the priority areas of cooperation. The Fourth Foreign Ministers' Meeting is scheduled to take place in Japan. Japan will co-chair the meeting as the host and Asian Coordinator together with Argentina, the Latin American Coordinator of FEALAC.

There has been increasingly active exchange between Asia and Latin America since the establishment of FEALAC. This is particularly evident in terms of the volume of trade between the two regions. Whereas trade has increased in volume by an average of 2.4 times on a worldwide scale since the forum was established, the volume of trade between Asia and Latin America has increased four-fold.

"The relationship between our two regions has grown from a missing link to a promising link, while the role of FEALAC has become increasingly important," explains Satoh, underlining the fact that stronger relations between Asia and Latin America mean that FEALAC has a greater responsibility within the international community.

The Keys to Strengthening Relations

There are three key points with regard to strengthening relations through FEALAC, namely (1) sharing experiences and mutual learning (each country or region learns from one another's experiences for its own development), (2) enhancing mutual benefits through exchange (enabling greater benefits for all through trade, investment and human exchange) and (3) working together to address global issues facing mankind (cooperating in order to address universal priorities such as environmental issues, climate change and infectious diseases).

In terms of the global scale of FEALAC, its member countries represent approximately 40% of the world's population and trade, and around a quarter of global GDP. Strengthening relations will therefore have a massive impact internationally. As the two regions are home to roughly one third of the planet's forests, increasing mutual cooperation in the areas of environment can also be expected to contribute to resolving global warming.

FEALAC's Top Priorities

The upcoming Foreign Ministers' Meeting is scheduled to focus on four priorities that member countries need to address in the future.

The first of these priorities is the environment and sustainable development. Those attending the meeting will discuss matters such as tackling climate change, sharing environmental technology and promoting environmental business practices with the aim of creating a society in which environmental protection is compatible with development.

Discussion regarding the second priority, getting over the current global financial and economic crisis, will concentrate on sharing relevant experiences and initiatives in Asia and Latin America to date and discussing possibilities for inter-regional cooperation.

The third priority is social inclusion, the focus of which will once again be on sharing experiences in Asia and Latin America and potential cooperation, with the aim of paving the way for harmonious societies that are free from poverty, disparity and alienation.

The fourth and final priority is to determine the future direction of FEALAC. Those attending the upcoming meeting will discuss the significance of FEALAC over the next ten years, priority areas for activities and the format of forum activities.

Japan's Role

As one of the world's leading industrial nations, Japan has made a substantial contribution to the economic development and democratization of Asia and Latin America and has forged trusting relationships with both regions. As such, Japan will once again play a bridging role between the two regions within FEALAC.

"Japan is expected to set out guidelines for future exchange and cooperation between Asia and Latin America and also demonstrate leadership in an effort to turn FEALAC into a more meaningful organization on the basis of the cooperation and contribution achieved to date," explains Satoh, reflecting feelings that the upcoming meeting will be a crucial milestone in the future development of FEALAC.

Japan has plenty of policies that it can showcase to the FEALAC member countries in relation to the aforementioned priorities up for discussion at the forthcoming meeting. In terms of the environment for instance, Japan can draw on its strategy against climate change and initiatives in areas such as energy saving technology and environmental business practices. From an economic standpoint meanwhile, Japan has a track record in areas such as international solutions to help resolve economic crises and efforts to create inter-regional value chains via Japanese companies. Japan has also actively addressed the issue of social inclusion through economic and technical cooperation for development as well as the promotion of human security.

In an effort to facilitate cooperation within FEALAC, the Government of Japan has organized invitation programs on a total of eight occasions to date, inviting more than 230 young leaders from FEALAC member countries to Japan to share its expertise in fields such as environmental protection and economic development and help strengthen relations between Asia and Latin America. As FEALAC enters into the new decade, it is ready to move forward from a dialogue-based forum to an action-oriented one. The Foreign Ministers' Meeting in January will be the first step in this process.

"In addition to outlining our own key policies and experiences to the FEALAC member countries, Japan's role as host country at the upcoming Foreign Ministers' Meeting is to encourage member countries to make a more active engagement with FEALAC," explains Satoh.

If Japan takes the initiative in supporting its growth over the next ten years, it will undoubtedly contribute to increased exchange and cooperation between Asia and Latin America in the future.