Lima, Dec. 11, 2006.- During the First Meeting of the CAN – Chile Joint Commission held this week-end in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba within the framework of the Summit of the South American Community of Nations, the Ministers of Foreign Relations of the Andean Community countries and Chile reached their first understandings regarding Chile’s participation in the CAN. 

In the Minutes signed on Saturday at the close of the Joint Commission, the Foreign Ministers of the CAN and Chile expressed their satisfaction at "the start of Chile’s participation as an Associate Member of the CAN” and placed on record the understandings that were reached during that meeting. 

In a statement to the press, the acting Secretary General of the CAN, Alfredo Fuentes Hernández, reported that among those understandings was the creation of a High-level Ad-hoc Technical Working Group that, within 90 days, will undertake to study and analyze issues put forward by the parties, including inclusive human and social development, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), educational promotion, health, cooperation for trade and investment, coordination vis-à-vis the Asia-Pacific group, exchanges to deepen CAN – EU relations,  boosting development-oriented science and technology, and connectivity.   

He went on to point up the important advance made in CAN – Chile integration at this first meeting of the Joint Commission and Chile’s interest in not only participating actively in the CAN, but also in helping to strengthen the Andean integration process, as expressed on numerous occasions by its highest level authorities. 

The minutes of the First Meeting of the CAN – Chile Joint Commission were signed by Foreign Ministers David Choquehuanca, of Bolivia; María Consuelo Araújo, of Colombia; Diego Ribadeneira, of Ecuador; and José Antonio García Belaunde, of Peru, on behalf of the Andean Community and by Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley for the Republic of Chile.