Address by Colombian President Andres Pastrana Arango at the Twelfth Andean Presidential Summit
Lima, June 9, 2000

This meeting of Presidents of the five Andean nations that constitute the CAN in the traditional city of Lima is, more than a routine gathering of the leaders of sister countries, the attainment of a historic legacy that we have jointly inherited from our Liberator, Simón Bolívar, and the projection of this moral heritage toward a future that will be promising so long as we maintain and strengthen our vocation for friendship and cooperation.

We are not heirs to a history of weakness and disunity but, rather, the continuers of a great dream born in the privileged mind of the greatest American leader in history, which interprets the deepest feelings of our peoples. We represent 110 million human beings who share a common culture and who inhabit one of the richest and most fertile areas on earth, crossed by the imposing Andes and bathed by the majestic waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Colombia comes to this summit with the steadfast will to once again reaffirm its unwavering commitment to Andean integration, a commitment that was born with the signing of the Cartagena Agreement in 1969 and that remains alive today, as our Community, equipped with modern tools, confronts the challenges recently created by globalization and the information age, without for that reason abandoning our primary goal of achieving the social development of our nations.

The Andean countries, moving ahead under the new rules that define global economic relations today, cannot afford the luxury of straying from the path of integration, as we did in the eighties, for fear of being left behind in the inexorable tide of history. On the contrary; we must profit from the vigor we took on in the final decade of the twentieth century to enter the new millennium armed with the unshakable decision to move this integration process ahead to its logical conclusion.

It is undeniable that the Andean Community has come a long way in our integration process, but much still remains to be done if we are to reach the ambitious target we set for ourselves last year in Cartagena to have our Common Market in place, with the free circulation of goods, services, capital, and persons, by December 31, 2005 at the latest.

I firmly believe this objective can be attained. But if what we want is integration, then we must first be completely convinced of the advantages it offers us, firmly committed to its jurisdictional authorities and procedures, and determined to fulfill our responsibilities.

In the second place, we must be realistic in admitting that despite the establishment of the Free Trade Area in 1993 and the adoption of a Common External Tariff for three of our countries in 1995, we are still far from constituting a true Customs Union, which is the logical prerequisite before proceeding to the Common Market. In fact, we must admit that the Free Trade Area must be consolidated and perfected first.

For that reason, we must first concentrate on bringing the consolidation of both the Free Trade Area and the Customs Union to a successful conclusion, while always moving toward the essential objective of having a Common Market by 2005. An agenda must be put together that prioritizes issues that are essential for giving the enlarged market a greater measure of transparency and strength.

I have noted with particular satisfaction that it is the intention to adopt at this summit an agreed action program for the years 2000 and 2001 that will focus on the priority tasks that will clear the way to the final goal of having a Common Market. Issues such as the simplifying of customs procedures, harmonizing of health legislation, adoption of a Community regime for public procurements, adoption of a common agricultural policy, approval of a Community provision on electronic trade, development of a common regime for promoting and protecting investments, and the recognition in our countries of national identification documents, are just some of the areas in which advances can be made over these two years. These are the building blocks with which the edifice of Andean integration can be constructed on a firm foundation.

We would be well advised to follow Suetonio’s wise advice to "Make haste slowly" in our efforts to perfect and consolidate the initial two phases of our integration, by first accomplishing the most immediate tasks, in the certainty that this will make us better equipped to reach our desired goal.

Messrs. Presidents:

The political will of our governments to build our integration must be reflected not only in the commercial aspects, but also in the implementation of a common foreign policy and the development of a social agenda that will benefit our nations.

Our countries will find their power of negotiation and capacity to achieve concrete results and benefits for the region strengthened in direct proportion to their ability to arrive at a concerted Common Foreign Policy in the largest number of scenarios and on the widest range of issues possible. A large area is available to the Andean Community in all international forums, both economic and political, to make its voice heard in the world, hemispheric, and regional spheres and it is up to us to make the most of it.

The Andean countries not only share a common history, culture, and traditions, but also problems and difficulties that frequently work against us on the international scene. Like many other States, ours face and have faced difficult economic and social situations and have been particularly affected by the worldwide illegal drug problem.

There is a growing awareness within the international community that it shares the responsibility for the proliferation of drug trafficking, either as consumers, producers of basic inputs, or drug money laundering centers. The Andean countries have been the big losers in the war on drugs and at a great sacrifice have paid the price for a scourge that is not ours alone, but also the world’s.

Therefore, we should make the extension and enlargement of the tariff benefits provided for under the United States ATPA and the European Union’s GSP-Drugs our common cause, assisting each other accordingly. We need help in safeguarding and spurring the legal economy in order to get rid of the illegal!

I would like to stress today that the Andean countries have spoken with a single voice in the FTAA negotiations and at the bilateral trade and investment meetings with the United States and with Canada, thereby boosting our effectiveness enormously. We have also signed a trade agreement with Brazil and have successfully concluded our negotiations with Argentina, in a process that should result in the medium term in the formation of a Free Trade Area between South America’s two most important trade blocs: our Community and Mercosur.

The Andean Community, under a single spokesmanship, has made similar advances in its negotiations with the three countries of the Central American Common Market’s northern triangle: Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala; with Panama, and with the Caricom. Community rapprochements with the European Community also look promising, as we reported at the meeting held during the Rio de Janeiro summit less than a year ago.

New scenarios lie ahead for the implementation of an Andean Common Foreign Policy in the near future. The Andean countries have much to contribute in the Rio Group, whose Pro Tempore Secretariat Colombia occupies today, toward the adoption of concerted approaches that will give Latin America and the Caribbean a more effective role to play in the most important international forums, such as the United Nations Millennium Summit. The Group Presidents will be meeting in Cartagena next week and I sincerely hope that my Andean colleagues and friends will be there.

These are some of the countless possibilities open to us with the adoption of a Common Foreign Policy. As Colombian poet Gonzalo Arango stated, "one hand plus one hand is not two hands, but joined hands." In the same way, the sum of our countries is not five countries, but a dynamic Community with a true weight on the international scene.

Messrs. Presidents of our Andean Community sister nations:

If we stand committed to the integration of our nations, it is because we are convinced that only through union and cooperation can we guarantee our peoples a future that holds true possibilities for human development –ones that combine the guarantee of civil rights and basic freedoms with decent living conditions and the creation of opportunities that will allow each of us to realize our own potential and vocation to the best of our ability.

Our countries, which are only now emerging from a difficult economic recession that had a negative impact on our integration efforts and obviously on the quality of life of our peoples, are today committed to economic and fiscal adjustments that will place them back on the course of economic growth. We are aware, however, that growth alone or the mere improvement of macroeconomic indicators will not be enough unless they go hand-in-hand with a more equitable distribution of resources and a marked improvement in social conditions in our countries.

That is why it is so gratifying that the priorities of our Community have included establishing a Social Agenda that will allow us to cooperate in working out joint solutions to serious problems like unemployment, as well as exchange experiences and seek reciprocal assistance on labor, cultural, educational, scientific research, health, and housing matters.

I find it particularly interesting that this Andean Social Agenda is to be implemented in our common border areas, which are geographically suited to serve as pilot territories for integration. It is there that we will further integral development programs with financial assistance from the Community and international financial institutions, starting, of course, with the Andean Development Corporation, whose 30^th anniversary is a matter of pride and satisfaction to the Andean countries.

Dear friends:

I bring to this Summit the voice of a nation that is convinced like none other of the benefits to be had from integration, that has worked unflaggingly for the success of the Community, and that is deeply committed to the process in which we are all jointly engaged.

From the very beginning, democratic principles and postulates have served as the cement for Andean integration. For that reason, I would like to invite you today to ratify without delay the Additional Protocol to the Cartagena Agreement that establishes the Andean Community’s commitment to democracy. This is the proper moment to reaffirm before the world our unwavering adherence to this commitment. As that Protocol states, "the full existence of effective democratic institutions and the constitutional state are essential to political cooperation and the process of economic, social, and cultural integration."

Colombia is very pleased at the attitude taken by President Fujimori in acknowledging that Peruvian democracy must be improved and also at his decision to invite a top-level mission from the Organization of American States to explore options and recommendations for strengthening democracy, together with the Government of Peru and other sectors of the political community. This decision, taken at the recent OAS General Assembly reveals the interest of the hemispheric community in consolidating democratic values within an environment of respect for the principle of non-intervention.

I am convinced that President Fujimori’s intended reform and any respectful recommendations the OAS mission puts forward will bring us closer to fulfilling our joint commitment set out in the Establishing Agreement of the Andean Pact, which states that this process is founded on principles of equality, justice, peace, solidarity, and democracy. In this way, we will ratify the Presidential Declaration on our commitment to Democracy, signed in Bogota on August 7, 1998.

We are aware, Messrs. Presidents, that only through the sincere commitment and the correlative political will of each and every one the Andean nations will we reach the important and ambitious targets we have set ourselves in compliance with a two hundred year dream and in benefit of our children and our children’s children.

I would like to conclude by recalling the words stated in 1973 by my father, the then President of Colombia Misael Pastrana Borrero, to his Presidential colleagues in the Andean Group, which reflect these principles and the social vocation that we reaffirm today here in Lima, at this new appointment with our future:

Thank you very much.