It is a pleasure for me to meet with you today in this, the Third Andean Business Forum. It is not common practice to have representatives of 1,200 companies from the Andean Group, MERCOSUR and Chile meeting under one roof and arranging more than 7000 business meetings within a few hours.

It is significant that in addition to the 500 Peruvian companies represented at this Third Forum, 200 importers from the Andean Community and 65 from MERCOSUR and CHILE are also attending the event. They are all looking forward to establishing contacts with new clients, suppliers or members, as part of their efforts to expand their trading activities and become more aggressive and more competitive within their economies, which are committed to openness and integration.

Over the past few years and despite the worldwide financial turbulence, Andean countries have managed to achieve macroeconomic stability to a greater or lesser extent, thus laying the foundation for the protection of our own sub-regional interests and, within that framework, strengthening our own political systems.

As far as Peru is concerned, we are proud to have contributed to the political stability of the sub-region and of Latin America in general, having settled the long drawn-out armed conflict with Ecuador by signing a Peace Agreement that is providing numerous opportunities for development.

In fact, official delegations from both countries are meeting today in New Orleans, where they are attending a Meeting of the Peru-Ecuador Advisory Group on the Consolidation of Peace through Development. We really are setting all our hopes on obtaining the economic resources we expect to receive, as these would trigger development not only in the two countries involved, but in the entire Andean Community.

Furthermore, the openness and sound management of our economies during the nineties has also helped to increase the flow of foreign capital to our countries, to reduce the inflation that caused so much harm during the previous decade, and to recover investments and accumulate international reserves.

Although we have not achieved the progress we expect to attain, – particularly in terms of reducing poverty, providing the facilities for the population to gain access to the benefits of science and technology and encouraging solidarity – this year, which marks the beginning of a new century, we can safely say that we have established basic guidelines aimed at diversifying our exports, incorporating a greater value added factor and re-establishing inter-industry links that increase our global competitiveness and expand our productive infrastructure. Our main objective is to expand our markets and secure a better standard of living for our population.

Taking into consideration the tariff facilities obtained as a result of forming part of a regional block such as the Andean Community, progressive business transactions will make it possible for us to rely on a strong, prompt, extensive and varied free trade zone by the year 2005.

The Andean Common Market should be completely deregulated, supporting the four basic forms of freedom, for goods, services, capital and individuals. That was a commitment that Peru assumed last June, in its capacity as President of the Andean Community of Nations.

In this context, it is worth mentioning that Peru is the only Andean country involved in both the Andean Community and the Asia Pacific Co-operation Forum (APEC). It will, therefore, be the link with other economies and a showcase for the products of this sub-region.

The consolidation of CAN and MERCOSUR should help all South Americans achieve our growth objectives and improve the region’s relations, both within the continent and with different extra-regional blocks.

The region is currently enjoying regional stability and peace, the two basic conditions for development. The time has come, therefore, to take action and put into practice the projects that are so often left on paper.

I should like to conclude by thanking you all for attending this Third Andean Business Forum. Your participation in the business negotiations, your increased awareness of CAN as an economic block and your appreciation of the exhibitions of Andean export supplies, is another positive and important part of our common efforts to achieve what all of us wish for: a more promising future in which our countries and their respective business sectors will enjoy more dynamism, integration and fairness.

Many thanks.