Brasília - Starting today, twelve South American countries will constitute the South American Community of Nations, a group that envisions the expansion of political dialogue and the economic, commercial, and infrastructural integration of the region. The official announcement of the creation of the Community will be made at the III Meeting of South American Presidents, in Cuzco, Peru.

The creation of the Community has been a topic of discussion among presidents of the member countries of the Mercosur and the Andean Community for more than ten years, ever since negotiations between the two blocs began. The first formal gathering of the South American Community will be in Brazil, in January, 2005, in a locale as yet to be determined.

The South American Community will be a free trade zone, without determining commercial targets for the region in the initial phase. The intention of Community members is to ensure physical and political integration through concrete infrastructural projects that draw into closer proximity countries that are distant from one another in terms of their business dealings.

From a practical standpoint, the creation of the South American Community is also aimed at promoting dialogue among the countries of South America with proposals that will strengthen the group's presence in the international arena. The Community's twelve member countries have a total population of 361 million people and a composite Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$ 800 billion.

Besides Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay, the South American Community of Nations is made up of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Guyana, and Surinam. The group's decisions will be made during meetings of the heads of State of the member countries, while the countries' chancellors will be responsible for the group's administrative and executive deliberations.

Agência Brasil
Reporter: Gabriela Guerreiro
Translator: David Silberstein
12/08/2004