From 8 to 10 October
The XXVII Latin American Council of SELA
to analyze 'FTAA and regional integration'

Caracas, 02 Oct.- "Regional integration and the FTAA, and the benefits and challenges of participating in a hemispheric free trade zone for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean" will be the topic to be analyzed by the XXVII Regular Meeting of the Latin American Council of SELA, which will be held in Caracas from 8 to 10 October, the Permanent Secretariat of the organization said today in a press communiqué.

The panelists to initiate the discussion include renowned personalities such as former Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Simón Alberto Consalvi, Mexico's Ambassador to Venezuela Jesús Puente Leyva, the Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Norman Girvan, and Argentine economist Eric Calcagno.

As part of the event, the Permanent Secretariat of SELA will present three studies dealing with the subject, focusing on the three major integration groupings of our region: the Andean Community, MERCOSUR+Chile, and the Wider Caribbean.

These three documents analyze both the opportunities and implications involved in the region's participation in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) - an initiative launched in 1994 by the U.S. government that is expected to be fully in force by 2005. The documents also propose policies and actions that the Latin American and Caribbean countries could implement in order to maximize benefits.

In compliance with the Provisional Agenda, The Latin American Council, the principal decision-making body of SELA, will also review institutional and administrative issues concerning the organization and will establish the Work Programme for the year 2002. In addition, the Permanent Secretariat will submit to the Council its Status Report on the activities for the present year.

The meeting, which comprises a preparatory stage and a ministerial stage, will begin on Monday at 10:00 a.m. (Venezuelan time), with speeches by acting Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Arévalo Méndez Romero and by the Permanent Secretary of SELA, Otto Boye. The second stage, which will start on Wednesday, at 9:00 a.m., will be inaugurated by the acting President of Venezuela, Adina Bastidas.

The Latin American Economic System (SELA), headquartered in Caracas, is an organization which promotes consultation and harmonization among 28 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. It was created in 1975 upon the initiative of Venezuela and Mexico. Its regulations and objectives were established under the Panama Convention.

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sela@sela.org
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