At special meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers
Foreign Ministers of the CAN Member Countries declare 2011 the “Andean Year of Social Integration”

Lima, Dec. 14, 2010.- The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Andean Community Member Countries agreed today to declare 2011 the “Andean Year of Social Integration,” with a view to promoting the subregional agenda, the policies of the Andean countries and citizens’ initiatives regarding equality, cohesion and social and territorial integration.   

The agreement was approved with the adoption of Decision 745 by the Eighteenth Special Meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers, held early this morning by videoconference under the chairmanship of Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca.

The recognition of the Andean Year of Social Integration seeks to reinforce the mechanisms for coordination of social development programs, projects and efforts among the organs and institutions of the Andean Integration System (AIS) and between the latter and the Member Countries.

Over the year, the CAN Member Countries and the AIS Organs and Institutions will accordingly further and disseminate active policies of social inclusion and cohesion, in order to prevent poverty and exclusion; promote and share experiences using best practices for the recognition and protection of social and cultural rights; and coordinate actions to promote the rights of indigenous peoples and peoples of African descent, among other activities. 

At today’s Special Meeting, the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers also approved, through Decision 744, the execution of the CAN-EU Cooperation Project “Support for Economic and Social Cohesion in the Andean Community – CESCAN II,” budgeted at 8.2 million euros.    

This project will help Andean Community Member Countries design a regional policy of Economic and Social Cohesion and will promote concrete actions through Cross-Border Projects and a Pilot Transnational poverty reduction Program.