Mexico, C.American Countries to Boost Economic IntegrationHeads of state and government from Mexico and seven Central American countries said June 15 that they will make joint efforts to implement a regional socio-economic integration project to eliminate poverty and realize common development in the area.According to a communique issued at the end of a one-day summit held in San Salvador, capital of El Salvador, the project known as the Puebla-Panama Plan (PPP) will help promote the integration of the region in the fields of politics, trade and economy, environment and culture, press reports reaching here said. Under the PPP plan, initiated by Mexican President Vicent Fox, investment policies and various economic and social projects, notably those for infrastructure and education, would be coordinated in an area extending from central Mexico's industrial city of Puebla to the southern end of Central America, comprising a population of 65 million people. The plan also envisages the construction of a 2,500-kilometer ( 1,500-mile) highway linking Puebla to Panama City. A committee composed of Inter-American Development Bank President Enrique Iglesias and finance ministers from the eight countries -- Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama -- will be established to collect money for the PPP plan, said the communique. An estimated 9 billion US dollars is needed to start the project. During the meeting, the participants also called on coffee exporting and importing countries to strengthen their cooperation and to search for formulas to relieve the crisis caused by a drop in the price in the international market. |
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