GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador, Jul 27 (IPS) - The presidents of South America decided Saturday to speed up negotiations to achieve full integration before year end between the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), with sights set on a united front before the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
This resolution was laid out in the summit's final document, entitled "Guayaquil Consensus on Integration, Security and Infrastructure for Development", signed at the close of the Second Meeting of South American Presidents, which met for two days in the western Ecuadorian city giving the document its name.
The declaration establishes that "it is essential" to complete integration between CAN (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru) and Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) this year in order to strengthen South America's "negotiating capacity in other negotiation processes, particularly the FTAA."
The presidents agreed that the process of creating the FTAA must take into account "the circumstances, necessities, economic conditions and opportunities of the countries with small economies."
The strongly worded statements made against the FTAA and the United States, particularly those by presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso, of Brazil, and host Gustavo Noboa, of Ecuador, were toned down in the final document, reflecting the discrepancies existing among the summit's participants.
The criticisms centered on the fact that conditions do not exist for creating the FTAA, given the increased restrictions on imports enacted by the United States and its hesitation -- and that of the multilateral credit organizations -- in helping countries submerged in deep economic crisis, evidenced by the case of Argentina.
Taking part in this second South American summit, in addition to host Noboa and to Cardoso, were presidents Eduardo Duhalde, of Argentina, Jorge Quiroga, of Bolivia, Ricardo Lagos, of Chile, Andrés Pastrana, of Colombia, Baharrat Jagdeo, of Guyana, Luis González Macchi, of Paraguay, Alejandro Toledo, of Peru, and Hugo Chávez, of Venezuela, as well as Uruguay's vice-president, Luis Hierro.
The gathering of the continent's leaders also affirmed the will to work in a coordinated way "to build an integrated space through the reinforcement of physical connections and the harmonization of institutional, normative and regulatory frameworks."
"The consolidation of this objective will allow the region to participate more broadly in the international flows of capital, goods, services and technology," states the final document.
The presidents stressed the importance of expanding and improving the regional infrastructure "as an essential factor for the integration of South America's economic space and the development of its countries."
"The inter-relation between infrastructure and development should be explored according to a South American strategic vision," says the document.
In this sense, it stresses the "strategic importance" of the Initiative for Integration of South America's Regional Infrastructure (IIRSA), "as an instrument for the multi-sector integration of the coastal areas of the Caribbean, Pacific, and Atlantic, and for the internal areas."
IIRSA came out of the first Meeting of South American Presidents, held in 2000 in Brasilia, and is implemented through the Plan of Action agreed at the ministerial meeting that took place later that year in Montevideo.
To underscore the concrete achievements of IIRSA, the Guayaquil Consensus includes a report on 162 transportation, energy and telecommunications projects that are under way among South American countries.
Also outlined are the joint efforts of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and the Financial Fund for the Development of the Plata Basin (FONPLATA), which make up the IIRSA Technical Coordination Committee.
According to the Consensus, "the axes of integration" of IIRSA promote "a climate of understanding and cooperation."
The document further states that the IIRSA cooperation framework takes into account "the harmonic and sustainable development of populations respecting their cultural uniqueness, especially when it involves indigenous peoples."
The South American presidents decided that their representatives in the IDB, CAF, FONPLATA and World Bank ( news - web sites) must give priority to projects executed under the auspices of IIRSA.
Another highlighted aspect was the strategic role played by energy in the social and economic development of the continent.
Included in the process of regional infrastructure integration, the presidents agreed on the need to "increase security, reliability and quality of the supply of energy in South America," as well as "developing regional energy markets with practices compatible with the principles of sustainable development."
The Guayaquil Consensus recommends the search for and exploration of alternative energy sources in countries suffering a deficit, and proposes creating assistance mechanisms for countries facing energy emergencies.
As such, there must exist "adequate and progressive harmonization of the legal frameworks for exchange in the energy sector", because it is "an important factor for regional economic integration, which enhances the development of a more open market, without barriers that limit free energy trade."
In the document, the presidents urge the second South American Conference on Migration, to take place Aug 15-16 in Quito, "to adopt a plan of action on international migration in South America."
The plan should establish guidelines that "protect the fundamental rights of South American emigrants in the world, particularly in the areas of social security and including reciprocal consular contributions."
That would serve as the basis "for the adoption of coordinated regional policies, with the aim of combating the trafficking of people and harmonizing the legislation of the South American countries on the migration issue."
In regards to the negative effects of the imbalances of the international economic system on the region, the presidents emphasized their support for Argentina and urged the international financial community to extend the necessary aid for that country's economic reactivation.
On another front, the Guayaquil Consensus, calls for the creation of an International Humanitarian Fund, an initiative of Venezuela that seeks financing for sustainable human development worldwide.
The presidents gathered in Ecuador committed themselves to the anti-narcotics fight, "taking into account the principle of shared responsibility" between the producing and consuming countries, which makes necessary a greater liberalization of markets for the products being used to replace illicit crops.
They rejected "the maintenance and increase of agricultural subsidies in industrialized countries, which distort the conditions for competition on the international market."
It is urgent to implement measures that allow the prevention, investigation, persecution, trial and punishment "of the authors and accomplices of crimes of corruption," says the document the continent's leaders signed.
It also declares South America a "Peace Zone", urging that the existing internal conflicts, such as in Colombia, must be resolved through dialogue.
The presidents of the region reject any form of external interference in the domestic matters of any country and called for initiatives to limit defense spending and compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, signed in 2001 by the Organization of American States.
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