MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Dominican Republic joins East Asia-Latam Cooperation forum

The 33 countries from the Forum of East Asia-Latin America Cooperation (FEALAC), which was held in Brasilia ratified multilateralism and a more fair international economic order and welcomed the Dominican Republic as a new member of this international organization.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana highlighted the Dominican Republic's admission to the Forum in Brasilia and said Haiti, Surinam and Guyana are expected to join it soon. The three countries attended the meeting as guests. Speaking about the role of FEALAC in boosting fledgling trade ties and building links between the far-flung regions, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso said FEALAC would be the greatest ocean-connecting bridge. At the closing of the ministerial group meeting, Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim and South Korea's Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon, told the press that the forum ratified its goals to defend multilateralism and a more fair international economic order. The group approved the Brasilia Declaration, a 30-point document in which the countries reaffirm their interest in improving the multilateral trade system for their benefit and highlighted their growing concerns in the face of globalization challenges. The FEALAC was founded in Chile's capital Santiago on March 30, 2001, when the first meeting of the foreign ministers from East Asia and Latin America was held. It now groups 18 countries from Latin America and 15 from East Asia. The East Asian members are: Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The Latin America members are: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela and now the Dominican Republic