Lima, July 16, 2005.- Andean Community Secretary General,  Allan Wagner Tizón, today put forward to the presidents of the Andean integration bodies five proposals for joint action.  These include the fostering, by the organs and institutions of the Andean Integration System, of actions concerted with MERCOSUR and Chile to expedite the gradual convergence of the CAN and MERCOSUR to form the South American Community of Nations.  Also the identification of programs and projects that will make it possible for the South American space to operate like a great decentralized development program.  

These proposals were made at the joint meeting of the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers and the representatives of the Andean Integration System, held today on the premises of the Peruvian Foreign Ministry. 

The highest-level authorities of the SAI organs and institutions participated in the meeting, to wit, the CAN General Secretariat, the Court of Justice, the Andean Parliament, the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Latin American Reserve Fund (FLAR), the Andean Business and Labor Advisory Councils, the Simón Bolívar Andean University, and the Andean Health  Body - Hipólito Unanue Convention.  They, in turn, made a presentation to the Andean Foreign Ministers about the actions taken over the past year. 

Wagner suggested, as well, that the SAI organs and institutions help creatively to design financial mechanisms and innovative institutions for promoting the territorial development and social cohesion of the Andean countries.  Also, that they mobilize public opinion and resources in order to give due value to the strategic importance of their oil and gas resources and other energy sources for reinforcing their leading role within South America.  

He also proposed concerted action in undertaking the new cooperative efforts to shore up the institutional system and democratic governance that have been launched for the first time at the request of several of the Member Countries. 

The President of the Andean Parliament, Víctor Enrique Urquidi, for his part, drew attention to the fact that representatives to that deliberating body are being chosen through direct elections in the Andean countries and to the work performed with equivalent bodies of MERCOSUR in order to advance the convergence of the CAN and MERCOSUR, particularly with regard to cultural matters. 

Enrique García, Andean Development Corporation President, reported on the infrastructure work being done under the IIRSA Initiative and the record figure reached in Andean Community operations, for which the CAF, more than the IDB and the World Bank together, has become the main source of financing.  

The President of the Latin American Reserve Fund,  Julio Velarde, stressed the close and coordinated efforts made with the Central Banks of the five Andean countries plus Costa Rica, and the progress made within the framework of the Redima Program of Macroeconomic Convergence. 

Mauricio Bustamante, Executive Secretary of the Andean Health Body - Hipólito Unanue Convention, for his part, revealed that the first specific project of the Integrated Social Development Plan (PIDS) is underway to reduce the incidence of malaria in border areas.

Andean Business Advisory Council Chairman, George Schofield, and Andean Labor Council representative, Carlos Ortiz, were in agreement on stressing the proposal to create an Andean Economic and Social Council that would enjoy the support of the European Economic and Social Committee and announced their decision to work together to promote social cohesion within the CAN. 

Julio Garrett, President of the Simón Bolívar Andean University, which operates in Ecuador and Bolivia, underscored the decision to open a new branch of the academic institution in Caracas, Venezuela.

Andean Court of Justice President Moisés Troconis presented a detailed report covering each of the 220 cases submitted to it, of which the Court handed down verdicts on 194.  The President also pointed out that the five Court judges had fulfilled their duty of imparting justice in the Andean Community countries.