UNASUR TO ACHIEVE A SOUTH AMERICAN CONTINENT UNITED AND IN PEACE BY 2020

Bogotá, May 11- Unasur new Secretary General, former Colombian Foreign Affairs minister Maria Emma Mejía is convinced that South America will be a united continent and in peace, in ten years time.

“I want to say that by 2020 South America will be something different, with inter-ocean links, inter fluvial links helping to bring together the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans, with satellite communications with energy exchanges and obviously a South American continent in peace”, said Ms Mejia on arriving to Bogotá from Guyana where on Monday she took office as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations.

Next to Colombian Foreign Affairs minister Maria Angela Holguin, Ms Mejia said that even when one of her tasks will be the “coordination and support” of links between existing organizations such as the Andean Community, CAN, and Mercosur with Unasur, her main job “will not be precisely referred to trade issues but to integration mechanisms”.

“Our focus will be specifically on regional integration mechanisms: we want the region to communicate, to be inter-connected, a region where macro-projects can be planned and developed” said Ms Mejia.

She added this task will not be limited to Andean countries but to the whole continent, because following on (Colombian) president Juan Manuel Santos words, “we are strong countries, but united we can become a world power”.

Former minister Mejia was sworn in at the Secretary General post by Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyana’s president, the country which currently holds the pro-tempore chair of Unasur.

All South American countries are members of Unasur. However the Paraguayan congress has still to vote the treaty and Unasur charter. The treaty was signed in May 2008.

Ms Mejia visited Paraguay last week and was promised by Paraguay’s Senate president Oscar González that the issue already figures in the agenda and a vote on the floor is scheduled for Thursday but could be delayed until next week.

Gonzalez said he has the commitment from most groups with congressional representation to approve the Unasur treaty, but not Venezuela’s incorporation to Mercosur as full member.

“I have a commitment with Unasur, and when I promise I deliver, but Venezuela is not included in that commitment”, said Gonzalez.

Unasur became legally existent last March 11 when nine of its twelve members ratified the treaty and charter.

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