Mercosur

• Tuesday, November 30th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Kirchner to visit Chile in “coming days”.

  Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Rafael Bielsa said this Monday in Santiago that President Nestor Kirchner will not be visiting Chile in the “coming days” as was earlier anticipated.

• Tuesday, November 30th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Country image and brand for Chile.

  Interbrand Chile won the 150,000 US dollars contract for designing a Country Image Strategy for Chile financed by the government and private companies.

• Tuesday, November 30th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil will not intervene to bolster the US dollar.

  Brazil will not intervene in the domestic money exchange market to prevent a further depreciation of the US dollar against the Real, said this Monday Henrique Meirelles, president of the Central Bank.

• Tuesday, November 30th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Intense cruise activity in Montevideo.

  Three cruise vessels called in Montevideo on Monday. They are: “Crystal Symphony” with 900 passengers on her way to Antarctica; “Saga Pearl” on her return trip from the Southern seas and the more modest “Andrea” which will be involved in brief Antarctic incursions.

• Monday, November 29th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Mercosur/India sign tariff reductions.

  Next December Mercosur and India will be signing a first tariff reduction agreement extensive to 900 products which will open the way to further advance in expanding bilateral trade.

• Monday, November 29th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Argentine economy forecasted to keep expanding.

  The Argentine economy is forecasted to expand 5% in 2005 in a favourable international context, which could be even stronger if the pending defaulted debt negotiations with private creditors prove “successful”.

• Monday, November 29th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Preparing for the Kirchner-Lagos summit in Santiago.

  In coincidence with the twentieth anniversary of the Argentina-Chile Peace Treaty signing, Foreign Affairs ministers from the two countries, Rafael Bielsa and Ignacio Walker will be meeting this Monday to review some pending details of Argentine president Nestor Kirchner's firs official visit to neighbouring Chile.

• Monday, November 29th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Torture victims to be compensated.

  Chilean President Ricardo Lagos has announced compensation payments to thousands of victims, saying illegal imprisonment and torture were a state policy during the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet.

• Sunday, November 28th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Top Naval Expo opens in Viña del Mar

  Chile's Minister of Defence Jaime Ravinet and the Chilean Navy Commander Admiral Miguel Vergara will open next Tuesday November 30 in Viña del Mar the IV International Naval Expo and Latinamerica Naval Defence Conference.

• Sunday, November 28th 2004 - 20:00 UTC

  Five cents per litre gasoline in Venezuela.

  Smuggled Venezuelan gasoline fuels much of Colombia's needs particularly along the common border, claimed this week Venezuela's Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez.
  
  However he admitted the issue is under discussion with Colombian authorities.