Good morning. It is a real pleasure to be in Georgetown and to have the opportunity to hold this discussion with such distinguished members of Guyana's private sector community.

In my presentation I would like to focus on the following three areas. First, I would like to tell you about the Andean Community. Next, I would like to refer to our efforts to strengthen our economic ties with our regional partners. Finally, I would like to briefly discuss how the private sector can contribute to strengthening the economic ties between the Andean Community and Guyana.

What is the Andean Community?

The Andean Community is a political, economic and social integration process undertaken by Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It began 30 years ago with the signing of the Agreement of Cartagena. After several years of slow progress, especially during the late 70's and early 80's, the Andean integration process has advanced at an astonishing speed during the present decade.

In the last several years, the Andean countries have established a Free Trade Area that has sparked a remarkable boom in intra-regional trade. Rapid growth in intra-regional trade has also led to an important surge in cross-border investment. In addition, three of our five Member Countries have adopted a Common External Tariff that we hope will be extended to the other two Member Countries in the coming years. Furthermore, the Andean countries have adopted common legislation in a number of areas such as intellectual property, investment, technical standards, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, transportation, competition, customs procedures, among others.

I should also emphasize that the Andean Community has succeeded in creating a strong institutional and legal framework. It includes an autonomous General Secretariat that acts as its executive body, a Court of Justice, a Parliament, two financial institutions, as well Business and Labor Advisory Councils that ensure an active role for these two sectors in the integration process. The Andean Community's legal system is perhaps the most sophisticated of those established by the integration blocks in our region. Andean legislation is automatically binding in all five Member States and disputes are solved through a highly legalistic process administered by the General Secretariat and the Andean Court of Justice.

Unfortunately, the Andean Community has not escaped the effects of the global economic crisis. This has led to a slowdown in intra-regional trade. Nevertheless, amidst these economic difficulties, our Heads of States decided in their most recent Summit held last May, to press ahead with the integration process by setting a new, higher goal, that of establishing an Andean Common Market by the year 2005. This means that by the year 2005, there shall be free movement of goods, services, capital and persons throughout the Andean Community. Undoubtedly, this an ambitious goal, but I feel confident that we will achieve it by that date.

Strengthening economic ties with our regional trading partners

Notwithstanding the success of our integration process, our Member Countries have recognized the need to seek markets beyond the Andean Community. In this regard, the Andean Community has emerged as a vehicle through which Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, are jointly exploring ways to strengthen their economic ties with our regional partners.

The Andean Community has been participating actively in the negotiations toward a Free Trade Area of the Americas. I should note that in these negotiations, the five Andean countries participate as a block with a single voice.

Recently, we signed a trade agreement with Brazil and we hope to begin negotiations toward a Free Trade Area with Mercosur in the near future. Moreover, the Andean Community is currently engaged in negotiations with several Central American countries.

Negotiations with the Caribbean Community are also high on our agenda. In fact, two of our Member Countries, namely Colombia and Venezuela, have already signed preferential trade agreements with Caricom and there are ongoing discussions regarding a broader arrangement between both economic blocks.

The private sector's contribution to strengthening economic ties between the Andean Community and Guyana

Trade between the Andean Community and Guyana is relatively small, reaching approximately 16.5 million dollars in 1997. It has also declined in recent years.

However, this should not be seen as a setback. Rather, it should be seen as an opportunity. The fact that trade is still small means that there is ample room for growth.

The Andean Community has a wide array of agricultural and manufactured products to offer for export. Its exports to Guyana already include manufactured items such as beer, aluminum cables, herbicides, refrigerators, apparel, cement, wire, electrical supplies, and construction materials, among other things. For its part, Guyana's exports to the Andean Community include minerals, wood, and fish, which have an increasing growth potential.

These business opportunities will increase as we continue our dialogue with Caricom.

However, the government-to-government contacts that I described earlier are just one element in the strategy to increase trade and investment between the Andean Community and Guyana. The private sector must also play a leading role. We need to promote greater contacts between our private sectors through trade missions, trade fairs, seminars, and other similar activities. I am prepared to offer you our support in these endeavors.

Thank you.