Peru’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gonzalo Gutiérrez, on Tuesday handed over the pro tempore presidency of the Andean Community (CAN) to his Bolivian counterpart, David Choquehuanca, for the period 2014-2015.
The Bolivian presidency must continue to work on pending issues, especially those pertaining to the Andean Controversy Solution System, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry wrote in a press release.
The handing-over ceremony was held on the sideline of the 38th Meeting of the CAN Andean Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers of the Andean Community, which was aimed at tracking the progress made towards restructuring this regional bloc.
During the meeting, Andean ministers approved two important regulations that will enable the bloc to complete the first phase of the restructuring, through a resolution on functional organization structure by the CAN General Secretariat.
The CAN is a community of countries that joined together voluntarily for the purpose of achieving integral, more balanced and autonomous development through Andean, South American and Latin American integration.
The countries that comprise the CAN --Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru-- share historical ties, a vast geography and a wide cultural and natural diversity, together with common objectives and goals.
The Andean Community has bodies and institutions that are coordinated by the Andean Integration System, which is better known as the AIS.
By means of this System, the CAN operates almost like a State. In other words, each of the bodies and institutions has a role to play and fulfills specific functions.
The Andean Council of Presidents, made up of the Presidents of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is responsible for charting the political course of the CAN.
On the other hand, the Andean Council of Foreign Ministers formulates the foreign policy of the Andean countries on all matters relating to the integration process and, if necessary, coordinates joint stands to be taken in international forums or negotiations.
The Commission, comprised of plenipotentiary delegates --those with full powers-- takes charge of formulating, executing and evaluating integration policies in the areas of trade and investment and produces laws and regulations that are binding on the four Member Countries.
The CAN has a General Secretariat that manages and coordinates the integration process.
The Andean Court of Justice is the judicial body that ensures the legality of the acts of all CAN bodies and institutions and settles any conflict that may arise between countries, between citizens or between countries and citizens because of a failure to honor the commitments assumed within the framework of the Andean Community.
The Andean Parliament, consisting of 20 Members of Parliament elected by universal vote --5 from each Member Country-- is the body that represents the people --in other words, the Andean citizens in general.
Civil Society consultative bodies are also part of the AIS, such as those relating to Indigenous Peoples, Labor and Business.
(END) NDP/SMA/CCR/RMB
Published: 10/16/2014