President of Colombia points out the need to “rethink the CAN”

Lima, July 29, 2011.- The President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, pointed out the need to “rethink the Andean Community” because the world, South America and the CAN itself have evolved.  “Venezuela is no longer a member.  We have the UNASUR. And we must sit down to rethink where we are and where we want to go,” he stated.   

In the course of the Eighth Andean Presidential Summit, held in Lima this past July 28, the Colombian leader indicated that there are many areas in which the Andean Community plays a much larger role and others that could be transferred to the UNASUR.   

By way of example, he stated that the subject of the environment is very important to our four Andean countries. “We four possess some unique characteristics and this matter is increasingly a subject for discussion and a matter of growing concern throughout the entire world.  We could bear an important specific weight in this area,” he stressed. 

“As a result, and taking up the words and suggestions of President Evo Morales, if you agree, this Pro Tempore Presidency will accept as a mandate our sitting down at a table with those you designate to engage in a joint exercise of reflection on how we are going to reengineer the CAN, so that it can truly satisfy the interest of our four countries,” he declared, addressing the Presidents of Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru.