Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC)

Also available in: Foro Asia América Latina Affaires Asie Amerique   Negocios Asia America

Course summary Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC):

The Forum for East Asia - Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC) brings together 10 ASEAN countries, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and 17 countries from Latin America. Its purpose is to increase mutual understanding, foster political dialogue, encourage cooperation, and develop new partnerships between the dynamic regions of East Asia and Latin America. FEALAC was thus formed to bridge the "missing link" between these two regions.

The 33 countries participating in FEALAC are:

East Asia: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam.

Latin America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.

The First Ministerial Meeting for FEALAC was held in Santiago Chile in March 2001. This meeting agreed a “Framework Document” to form the basis for FEALAC activities. The Framework establishes that “Closer linkages and cooperation between East Asia and Latin America will be mutually beneficial and contribute to both regional and international peace and stability”.

Since 2001, Asia has recovered from the financial crisis and regional economies are on the rebound. Driven by the rise of China and India, old linkages are being revived and new ones forged between Latin America and Asia. Trade between the two regions have increased.

The biggest story of this century is the re-emergence of China and India. Their economic resurgence is reshaping the global political and economic landscape. With a market of more than 1 billion people, China's global trade in 2004 was about US$1.5 trillion. India's growth rate exceeded 6% a year for the last ten years. Its growth last year was close to 7% and projected to grow at 6-8% for many more years. The Chinese economy is predicted to overtake the US to become the world's largest economy by 2041. India is likely to overtake Japan to become the third largest economy in the world in 30 years.

Example of the course Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC):

Topic: Globalization and regionalization