Brasília, March 12, 2004 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In coming weeks the countries of the Mercosur and the Andean Community (CAN) should conclude negotiations on a list of sensitive products that require special attention in the free trade agreement between the two blocs. The Mercosur and CAN countries will also determine the exceptions and rules on origin and work out details left pending after their last meeting, held in Montevideo, Uruguay, last December.
The Minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, met in Brasília, yesterday (11), with the secretary-general of the Andean Community, Ambassador Allan Wagner, to resolve technical aspects of the agreement. According to Amorim, the strategic alliance that led to negotiations between the Mercosur and the CAN was Peru's association with the Mercosur, facilitated by Wagner's permanence at the helm of the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Relations until the end of last year. As secretary-general of the Andean Community, Wagner has worked for the creation of a South American Community of Nations.
This is the first time that Ambassador Wagner has traveled to a country that is not a CAN member since taking office as secretary-general of the bloc. "Ambassador Wagner brought new ideas to discuss the physical integration of the blocs. This integration will not be limited to trade but will extend to other areas," Amorim affirmed.
The Navigation Chart, the basic document that will guide the process of integration between the Mercosur and the CAN, will include, besides the free trade area, aspects related to tax agreements, technical and sanitary norms, and access to markets. The Mercosur and CAN countries also intend to make progress in the area of infrastructure, trade and services, and free circulation of capital and people. The members of the Mercosur are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Chile, Bolivia, and Peru are associated countries. The CAN is made up of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.
For the Navigation Chart to go into effect, it must be signed by the presidents of the countries participating in the agreement. (DAS)
