Brasília, 3/3/2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - The Foreign Ministers of Mercosur countries, the Andean Community of Nations, and Chile, meeting in Buenos Aires, have reaffirmed their commitment to the Miami Declaration on the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

A document signed by the ministers states that they favor speeding up regional and bilateral agreements and working toward more flexible negotiations which take into consideration individiual country characteristics, especially those countries with small economies. They even mentioned making progress in government procurement, which is of special interest to the US and Canada, more so than for Mercosur countries.

The ministers expressed their wish to see the FTAA as part of the process of regional integration. They promised to work for the success of the next meeting of vice ministers in Puebla, Mexico, on March 18 and 19. The document says a set of common rights and obligations should be established, and that there were no problems with multilateal agreements.

This meeting was the first time in 10 years that all the Foreign Ministers have gotten together. (AB)