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G-3 Summit Agrees to Boost Cooperation Within Bloc
Presidents from Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela agreed Sunday to strengthen cooperation within the regional trade bloc the Group of Three (G-3).
The statement, issued at the end their two-day summit, said that the three countries, which made up the G-3, will speed the process of integration in all areas through political dialogue, negotiation and coordination and will boost cooperation in the field of education, science and technology, tourism, disaster prevention, disaster relief and environment.
The leaders from the three countries decided in their statement to set up a social fund to combat poverty. "The idea came up to create a G-3 social fund to create jobs as well as fight poverty and illiteracy," said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
The G-3 countries will also strengthen the information exchange and political coordination in order to stabilize the international energy market.
The leaders agreed to hold a summit every two years, a foreign minister-level meeting every year and a vice foreign minister-level meeting every half a year. And the negotiation mechanism will be built after the summit to keep constructive dialogues with other groups.
Chavez said the Latin American nations should strengthen their regional alliances before joining the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).
Besides Chavez, Colombian President Andres Pastrana and Mexican President Vicente Fox attended the G-3 summit which opened on Saturday.
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