BORDER DEVELOPMENT


For the Andean Community, border zones are natural and geographic areas that link up the economies and societies of the five Member Countries. They are also the meeting point for national road systems, over which a large part of their trade and tourist activities are conducted.

In light of all of this, the Andean countries, by approving Decision 459, adopted the Community Policy for Border Integration and Development as an essential element for the strengthening and consolidation of the subregional and regional integration process.

The basic aim of this policy is to improve the standard of living of the people and further the development of their institutions in the border areas between the CAN countries.

High-Level Group

A High-Level Group for Border Integration and Development was set up, consisting of the competent national officials in this area, with the function of proposing programs and plans of action, in order to guarantee the implementation of that Community Policy.

The Council of Foreign Ministers is responsible for coordinating this Group and the CAN General Secretariat functions as its technical secretariat.

At the recommendation of this Working Group, the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers approved Decisions 501 and 502 on the Border Integration Zones (BIZs) and the Binational Border Service Centers (BBSCs), respectively.

The Border Integration Zones and the Binational Border Service Centers

The BIZs are established for the end purpose of creating favorable conditions for sustainable border integration and development among the CAN Member Countries.

Their objectives are to help diversify, strengthen, and stabilize the economic, social, cultural, institutional, and political links among the Andean countries; foster local collective associations; and contribute to deepening national processes of economic and administrative decentralization, among other things.

BBSCs can be set up by CAN Member Countries through specific agreements tailored to the individual characteristics and unique features of their respective border crossings.

The objectives of the BBSCs are to institute an efficient and integrated system for managing and controlling the two-way traffic over the border crossings; avoid duplication of formalities; and register data on the movement of people, equipment, goods, and vehicles, among other things.