Documents - Andean Community - Presidential Declaration and Priority Agenda. First Meeting of Heads of State of the South American Community of Nations

Presidential Declaration and Priority Agenda
First Meeting of Heads of State of the South American Community of Nations
Brasilia, September 30

In fulfillment of the Cuzco Presidential Declaration of 8 December 2004, and inspired by shared values such as democracy, solidarity, human rights, freedom, social justice, respect for territorial integrity, diversity, non-discrimination and the assertion of independence, the sovereign equality of States and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the Presidents and Heads of State of the countries of the South American Community of Nations, gathered in Brasilia, 29-30 September 2005, hereby declare:

Introduction

1. The essence of the South American Community of Nations is the political understanding and social and economic integration of the peoples of South America.

2. The South American Community of Nations will strengthen the identity of South America and contribute, in conjunction with other experiences in regional and sub-regional coordination, to strengthening the integration of the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean.

3. The reciprocal association of Member States of MERCOSUR and CAN, as well as the association of Suriname, Guyana and Chile, are essential to the establishment of the South American Community of Nations, the ultimate objective of which is the union of South America.

4. The objective of the South American Community of Nations is to strengthen the shared values and principles set forth in the Cuzco Presidential Declaration.

5. In the economic field, the objectives of the South American Community of Nations include the progress and consolidation of the convergence process aimed at the establishment of a South American free trade area, with a view to its enhancement, as well as the promotion of economic growth and the reduction of asymmetries, whenever possible, through the economic complementation of the South American countries.

6. To this end, and in accordance with the Cuzco Declaration, the parties decided to commission, taking into consideration Resolution 59 of the ALADI Council of Ministers, the General Secretariat of ALADI to prepare, in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Andean Community and the Technical Secretariat of MERCOSUR, a proposal on CAN – MERCOSUR convergence and other trade agreements in the region, with a view to enhancing a South American free trade area, taking into account special and differentiated treatment. The Community’s efforts will focus primarily on promoting improved living standards, creating decent jobs, the fair distribution of income and the delivery of social benefits to their inhabitants.

Organization

7. The establishment of the South American Community of Nations will be based on existing institutions, preventing duplication and overlapping of efforts, as well as new expenditures, establishing coordination among the Ministries of External Relations, with the support of the existing integration bodies, and enhancing its functioning.

8. The Meetings of the Heads of State constitute the Community’s highest level of political direction. The meetings will be convened annually and held in all member countries, preferably in alphabetical order.

9. The primary objectives of the meetings of Ministers of External Relations are to: promote political dialogue, prepare the Meetings of the Heads of State and adopt the executive decisions on implementing the presidential directives. They will be held biannually.

10.The Deputy Ministers of External Relations will coordinate the positions of the countries of the Community and prepare the Meetings of the Ministers.

11.The Sectoral Ministerial Meetings will be convened by the Heads of State and consider and promote specific projects and policies related to South American integration in areas such as health, education, culture, science and technology, citizen security, energy, transportation and communications infrastructure and sustainable development. To this end, these meetings will take place using existing mechanisms in MERCOSUR and CAN.

12.The infrastructure meetings will promote the implementation of the agreed priority projects agenda of the South American Regional Infrastructure Integration Initiative (IIRSA), inter alia, taking into consideration the national, bilateral and regional development plans, and include the participation of the communities involved and environmental protection.

13.The political and diplomatic coordination and consultation capable of enabling the region to become a distinct and dynamic factor in the context of its external relations is a primary objective of the South American Community of Nations, which, at this stage, will be manifested through discussions and exchanges of information on issues of mutual interest. The Community’s decisions will be adopted by consensus.

14.The Pro Tempore Secretariat of the South American Community of Nations will be exercised by each member state on a rotating basis, for a period of one year, which will conclude at the Meeting of Heads of State. Brazil will exercise the Pro Tempore Secretariat until the Second Meeting of the Heads of State of the South American Community of Nations, scheduled to be held in Bolivia in 2006.

15. The Community “Troika” will consist of the host country of the Meeting of Presidents, the host country of previous year’s meeting and the host of the following year’s meeting. The “Troika” will support the activities of the Pro Tempore Secretariat.

Priority Agenda

16.The priority action areas of the South American Community of Nations are:

- political dialogue,
- physical integration;
- the environment;
- energy integration;
- South American financial mechanisms;
- asymmetries;
- promotion of social cohesion, social inclusion and social justice; and
- telecommunications.

17.We request that the Regional Integration Institutions submit to the Ministries of External Relations and other interested Ministries their suggestions to develop proposals and specific work plans in the areas set forth in the paragraph above. These work plans should be undertaken without delay and presented no later than the first half of 2006.

18.With regard to the reduction of asymmetries, we have requested that the General Secretariat of CAN, the Technical Secretariat of MERCOSUR, the General Secretariat of ALADI, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA, the Permanent Secretariat of the OTCA, the Secretariat of CARICOM and ECLAC prepare a discussion paper for the “Forum: A New Approach to the Asymmetries in South American Integration” meeting convened by Bolivia and scheduled to be held in La Paz on 21 October 2005, and anticipate that the Forum will offer recommendations to reduce asymmetries in the region and ensure that economic relations produce benefits for all people.

19.The secretariats referred to above will, similarly, assist the Pro Tempore Secretariat on technical issues within their mandates and related to this Declaration.