Current global trade and investment dynamics, have accelerated efforts by countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Southeast Asia (SEA) to diversify their export offer and trading partners, strengthen economic resilience and integrate more deeply into inter-regional value chains.
The emergence of new mega-regional trade agreements, such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), has sought to advance these objectives by facilitating market access and regulatory cooperation, while also providing greater legal certainty for the attraction of higher-quality foreign direct investment.
While growing engagement between the two regions is reflected in increasing trade and investment flows, significant potential remains to further deepen these ties, particularly by better aligning trade integration with sustainable investment strategies.