Words of Ambassador Edwin Johnson, Foreign Affairs Vice-Minister of Ecuador, on behalf of the Chairman of the Andean Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers, on occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the signing of the Cartagena Agreement

Lima, May 24, 2004

It is an honor for me to be present in this important ceremony, on behalf of the Foreign Affairs Minister of Ecuador and Chairman of the Andean Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers, Ambassador Patricio Zuquilanda, who had to travel today to Mexico to take part in the work of the IV Summit of Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean and the European Union, in the city of Guadalajara. The Foreign Affairs Minister of Ecuador has asked me to send all of you his warm regards and congratulations for this celebration, which happens to coincide with the Andean Community being chaired by Ecuador. This 24th of May is also a very important date in the history of my country, we celebrate 182 years of the Battle of Pichincha, when the armed forces of our countries fought together for their independence.

Ecuador has been an important promoter of Andean integration since its inception. This has been a permanent objective of Ecuador’s Foreign Policy, seeking, above all, to promote the community project from an integration perspective, combining the efforts made in creating an Andean common market with those concerning the Andean Community relationship with third parties on political and trade matters, as well as the development of a Social Agenda and the growing participation of civil society in the process.

Furthermore, my country has been a permanent promoter of development and political cooperation at subregional level, currently dealing with important aspects related to security and reliability, the fight against illegal drugs and associated crimes, and extensive sustainable development issues, including promotion and defense of our biodiversity, among other important issues.

In terms of community policy on integration and border development, Ecuador has supported the community efforts to promote the development of border integration zones and the creation of binational centers to deal with border matters. For such purpose, a Community Policy on Integration and Border Development has been jointly approved by the Andean member countries, which will be used as general framework to develop the objectives on this matter.

The development of this vast agenda leads us to a further reflection, the need to study the possibility of designing a new Andean institutionality that would enable us to face, by sectors, the present and future challenges posed by a new Andean integration phase.

As you will remember, Ecuador assumed the Andean Community Chairmanship on June 28, 2003.

When taking on this important responsibility, we focused our efforts in trying to consolidate the union of its member countries in order to commit the political support of the Andean Presidents with the purpose of strengthening the Customs Union with a view to the creation of a Common Market, compliance with the Andean system of rules, and strengthening of the Andean Integration System institutionality.

This objective was supported on the fact that the Andean Community’s main asset is the existence of a block that provides its Member Countries with special strengths, both in negotiations with third parties and in the development of inter-community cooperation policies. Ecuador has encouraged the incorporation of social issues, as essential focal points that need to be considered in Andean integration and were not given sufficient priority in the past.

Together with our Andean counterparts, we proposed strategic-political guidelines related to economic aspects, the Andean common market, our relationship with third parties, the participation of civil society, and Andean institutionality. With regard to the economic aspects, Ecuador succeeded in uniting the Member Countries’ criteria on the need to make a deeper analysis of the macroeconomic policies that would contribute to achieve exchange stability, since these aspects affect Andean trade flows.

On the matter of the Andean common market, stress was laid on the importance to consolidate customs union, the present condition of the common external tariff and the price stabilization mechanism for the agriculture sector. In this subject, we have requested the Member Countries to adopt a Common Agricultural Policy in the near future, a task which is still pending.

Concerning relationship with third parties, Ecuador urged about the need to complete before December 31, 2003, the negotiations between the Andean Community and MERCOSUR for the creation of a free trade zone between both blocks, with a view to face together the challenges posed by the FTAA, the relationship with the European Union, as well as the negotiations on trade and political aspects with the United States of America and Canada.

With regard to civil society participation, we see with optimism that the priority set by Ecuador prior to its participation at the Quirama Summit, concerning the adoption of a Comprehensive Social Development Plan, is being fulfilled in a regular way and we hope to approve such instrument before completing our Pro Tempore Chairmanship, which will enable us to complement our national policies in our fight against poverty as well as to look for the incorporation of marginalized sectors such as the native populations.

The Pro Tempore Secretariat set a Work Plan to comply with the main focal points identified in the Quirama Declaration and which refer to political, social, cultural and economic aspects of Andean integration. With the valuable support of the General Secretariat and the commitment of all Member Countries, we are complying with this work plan and it should be completed by July of this year.

We are very pleased to have organized and chaired several meetings and negotiations in our country related to the fulfillment of this work plan. One task that has demanded significant time and effort from the Chairman’s Office has been the strengthening of common relations with the European Union, through the negotiation and execution of the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement, and the actions taken to start negotiations for an Association Agreement during the coming Bi-regional Summit of Mexico.

We are presently dedicating our efforts to organize and give a warm welcome to the Andean Presidents gathered at the XV Andean Presidential Council in Cuenca, whose Summit will be followed by a Special Meeting of Heads of State of the Andean Community, MERCOSUR and Chile, where we expect to deliberate openly and frankly on the possibilities of finding the proper ways to develop a deeper relationship at regional and sub-regional level, that will enable us to continue strengthening our integration process.

We are gathered today to commemorate 35 years of Andean integration, a good reason to think on what we have accomplished and what is left to do. If we would make an evaluation of the past, we would certainly reach to the conclusion that Andean integration has attained more successes than failures; nevertheless, we still think that such efforts are not enough. We still have a task pending with our people and with history. After almost four decades of integration, we still lack the necessary political will to put community interest before national interest. All of us have failed in this task, and this is why, in view of the threats that hover over our Andean project, it is now time to look for a new objective that will finally lead the Andean Community to a true political and economic integration.

In this regard, Ecuador receives with great interest the proposal of the Andean Community Secretary General, to provide the Andean integration process with a new strategic design, a proposal that, once enriched by the contributions of the member countries, will allow us to find our future work. I would like to mention that it was precisely in Ecuador, in Galapagos Islands, in 1989, where the last strategic design for Andean integration was approved.

The challenges we are facing at the trade negotiations with third countries stand as the final indication of our will to preserve what has been achieved to date. Faced with such commitment, we should remember today the important contributions made by renowned statesmen in favor of this community project, and particularly those who have left us too soon, such as Germánico Salgado of Ecuador, Felipe Salazar of Colombia, and Sebastián Alegrett of Venezuela. Our warmest tribute to all of them, and to all those who continue struggling for Andean integration.

Thank you.