Lima, November 23, 2005.- The Secretary General of the Andean Community, Ambassador Allan Wagner Tizón, last night underscored the importance of “the alliance with the European Union to together work out the Andean social cohesion strategy,” as well as the “felicitous sharing of perspectives” between the CAN and the EU with regard to this great objective. “Social cohesion is, in effect, one of the key areas for action of the CAN’s strategic new design and, at the same time, of the relationship between the CAN and the EU,” he emphasized.

Wagner spoke in those terms during the closing ceremony of the seminar “Social cohesion on the European Union – Latin American agenda: Achievements and convergences on an Andean perspective,” organized by the Observatory of European Union – Latin American Relations (OBREAL), in coordination with the CAN General Secretariat, the European Commission and the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP). During that same ceremony, there was a presentation of the book “Democratic governance and the employment problem in the Andean subregion,” which contains the papers presented and the discussions that took place during the seminar by that same name held at the CAN’s headquarters in April 2005.

The CAN Secretary General stated that the Andean Community “values the support it is receiving from the European Union based on its experience.” “The next EU-LA summit, scheduled for May 2006 in Vienna, will find the Andean countries moving toward the objective of adopting and executing an Andean strategy of social cohesion,” he went on to add.

Wagner also pointed out that as a result of the last three Andean Presidential summits (Quirama 2003, Quito 2004 and Lima 2005), the dimension of socially inclusive development has been retrieved for the integration process, which means working on aspects like the promotion of small and medium-size enterprises, territorial development, and technological innovation. “In this way, the integration process has assumed a new dimension that prioritizes socially inclusive development,” he explained.

He reported, as well, that the Integral Plan for Social Development (IPSD), approved in 2004, contains a Community strategy designed to support the Member Countries’ efforts to fight poverty, inequity and social exclusion and that among its 20 projects, the project aimed at promoting employment is one of the most important.

Wagner emphasized that the purpose of the Andean Community is to promote a subregional strategy for fostering decent work and that the Second Andean Employment Conference has been convened for that purpose for this Thursday and Friday in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

The participants in the Seminar on Social Cohesion include, among others, Ricardo Hernández Pulido, Director of the ILO Subregional Office for the Andean countries; Ramón Torrent, coordinator of OBREAL; Eloy Avila Alberdi, Ambassador of Bolivia in Peru; José Gregorio Ibarra, Chairman of the Andean Labor Advisory Council; Ignacio Sobrino, representative of the Delegation of the European Commission in Peru, and Julio Cotler, President of the Institute of Peruvian Studies (IEP).