CAN invigorates its external projection

By Alfredo Fuentes Hernández,
Acting Secretary General of the Andean Community
Article published in the newspapers, La Razón (Bolivia) (21.12.2006), El Comercio (Perú) (1.01.2007), El Tiempo (Colombia) (6.01.2007), El Comercio (Ecuador) (8.01.2007)
 

The Andean Community (CAN) closes the year 2006 with important progress to show and with enough vitality to face up to the challenges and possibilities 2007 holds.   The end of an electoral year in which three Presidents were elected in democratic voting  will enable the Andean partners to continue reactivating their internal agenda and strengthening the visible accomplishments of their external projection in Latin America and in their relations with the European Union, the Asia-Pacific countries and the United States.   

In November, the European Commission (EU) issued guidelines for the negotiation of a CAN-EU Association Agreement, which could be launched during the first quarter of 2007, once they have been approved by the EU Council.  The CAN has been preparing itself by taking actions to deepen subregional integration, for an association that will encompass:  1) liberalization of trade and investment; 2) political dialogue in different spheres, like support for governance, climate change, drug control, and alternative development; and 3) cooperation programs that reflect the shared will to fight poverty and social exclusion.  All of this will be accomplished by defining an equitable regulatory framework that reflects the differences in development between the two regions. 

In September, Chile’s return to the CAN as an Associate Member was formalized.  A Joint Commission and CAN-Chile working groups will embark in early 2007 on concrete efforts to deepen relations in spheres such as the exchange of experiences with social programs, support for micro undertakings and for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs); development of instruments to improve the quality and coverage of education and health through the Andrés Bello and Hipólito Unanue Andean Conventions; cooperation on trade and investment in order to incentivate competitiveness;  support for integration initiatives on connectivity, transportation, and information technologies; and coordination of initiatives with regard to the Asia-Pacific area.    

The vigor of Andean projection in Latin America was also reflected in the signing of a Political Dialogue and Cooperation Mechanism with Mexico last November as an initial step toward that country’s incorporation as an Associate Member.  Furthermore, the interest in gradual convergence to form the South American Community of Nations (CSN) was revealed at the recent meeting of Andean Foreign Ministers with the Foreign Ministers of the five MERCOSUR countries and Chile, at the CAN’s invitation, during the South American Presidential Summit.  The Associate Members will be invited from now on to all of the meetings of the Andean bodies and institutions.   And lastly, substantial advances were made toward implementing the international agreement signed with Venezuela in August.   Texts are on the verge of being finalized with regard to technical and sanitary standards, dispute settlement, origin and safeguards, but the CAN must first study Venezuela’s request to reduce the five-year period for the maintenance of benefits under the liberalization program. 

It should also be mentioned that joint action was taken to secure the extension of trade preferences with the United States, which accounts for 38% of the CAN’s exports.   The efforts of the Andean countries, represented by their Presidents, Ministers, and Ambassadors and by the CAN General Secretariat helped secure the temporary extension of a mechanism whose importance is reflected in the more than two million direct jobs associated with Andean production activities that make use of ATPDEA preferences.     

The CAN also reaffirmed its interest in deepening reciprocal relations with China, a privileged actor in the Asia-Pacific region, and in reactivating the “Agreement to Establish a Political Consultation and Cooperation Mechanism” with that country. The recent visit by high-level officials of the Foreign Ministry of the People’s Republic of China to the CAN and the identification of economic and social topics that may be of common interest to the parties, gives reason for optimism over the possibility that the Third Meeting of this Mechanism will be held in the first half of 2007.