MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan Secretary General for ALADI.

Twelve Latinamerican Foreign Affairs ministers meeting in Montevideo in the framework of the Latinamerican Integration Association, ALADI, XIIIth General Assembly elected this Monday Uruguayan minister Didier Opertti as the next Secretary General of the organization and committed themselves to consider a Free Trade Space involving the twelve country members.

The session was opened by Mr. Opertti, and Ignacio Walker from Chile and Jesus Perez from Venezuela were elected as vice-presidents.

The current Secretary General Juan Francisco Rojas from Venezuela, who will be leaving the post next March, gave his final report on the three years of his mandate.

The XIIIth general assembly agenda includes ALADI's role and its functioning as a development factor and consolidation of the regional integration process; foundations for the creation of a regional Free Trade Space and the election of the next Secretary General which will be Uruguayan Foreign Affairs minister Didier Opertti.

The economies of the twelve ALAI member countries represent over 90% of the Latinamerican and Caribbean GDP.