OAS iIn Cooperation Agreement with Andean Community

September 15, 1998

Under an agreement signed between the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Andean Community efforts will be coordinated to expand programs to benefit their member countries.

Signing the agreement Tuesday, Andean Community Secretary General Sebasti�n Alegrett said Acooperating like this is definitely the only way for us to much more effectively accomplish our goals and objectives.

OAS Secretary General C�sar Gaviria, meanwhile, pointed to his recent involvement in meetings with the Andean Development Corporation and now with the Andean Community. AIt is an indication of our will to cooperate and the potential within our institutions to coordinate in sharing experience and information and put on seminars, he added.

The agreement provides for cooperation on matters of common interest within each organization=s spheres of operation and program of activities. Both parties also commit to ongoing sharing of information and documents on matters of common interest and to consulting one another.

Also provided for in the agreement is the possibility of executing projects jointly, to effectively utilize available resources while committing to participate in meetings and conferences of mutual interest and to convene experts meetings between the two institutions.

Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela form the Andean Community, the primary objective of which is to promote harmonious and balanced development of member countries through economic and social integration.

The Andean countries have a combined population of more than 105 million covering some 4.7 million square kilometers of territory, with gross national product totaling over 240 million dollars.

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