MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Permanent Secretariat for Ibero-american summits

The XIII Ibero-american summit meeting in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia agreed the creation of a permanent Secretariat (with a nominated chairman) that will act as an executive branch and have its office in Spain.

The new Secretariat which ended a long discussion among the 21 countries that belong to the Ibero-american forum was part of the "Santa Cruz de la Sierra Accord", and should have its statute drafted and approved for the next summit scheduled to take place in Costa Rica in the fourth quarter of 2004.

Mexican Foreign Affairs Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez announced that summit participants agreed that the executive branch be located in Madrid and that the first Chairman to be nominated in Costa Rica will be Latinamerican.

Most of the budget, 80%, will be financed by Spain with the remaining split among the other country members.

The first Ibero-American summit that brought together 19 Latinamerican countries plus Spain and Portugal met in 1991 with the purpose of becoming a permanent mechanism of political consultation and harmonization, which annually gathers the heads of government and state of 23 countries.

The Permanent Secretariat was recommended by former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso, following instructions from the previous summit in Santo Domingo.

Mr. Cardoso argued that the Permanent Secretariat must become the link that ensures the continuity of the summits proposals and its long term objectives.

Commitment to fight poverty and promote free trade

The 13th Ibero-American Summit held in Bolivia ended Saturday with the signing by the participating heads of states and government of the Declaration of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a 45 points document which includes an appendix on cooperation programs and 14 special addenda.

In addition, after analyzing a report prepared by former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, the heads of 21 Latin American countries approved the Santa Cruz de la Sierra Agreement updating the summit system basically to make it more dynamic.

The signing ceremony was attended by all the heads of state and government gathered in Santa Cruz except for Argentine President Nestor Kirchner who left a few hours earlier and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva.

The Santa Cruz Declaration includes recommendations on overcoming poverty, improving the structure of the U.N. Security Council and addressing rich countries agriculture subsidies that hinder free trade and punish developing countries.

The declaration also urges developed countries, cooperation agencies and financial institutions to boost aid programs and adopt policies to eradicate poverty.

The commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms, but always in compliance with international law, consolidating democracy, preserving the rule of the law and protecting and promoting human rights, was underlined.

The document also has a pledge to step up the fight against the global threat of drug trafficking and promoting grants of micro-loans to help small business development.

The need to ensure fair, universal and permanent access to health and social security systems as well as to essential medications for the entire region's people was included. The next Ibero-american summit is scheduled in 2004 in Costa Rica.