Peru, Chile presidents to discuss regional integration proposal

Peruvian President Alan Garcia is expected to discuss with Chilean President Sebastian Piñera his proposal on a zone for free movement of goods, people and capital, a zone that would include Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

According to a recent article on santiagotimes.cl, President Garcia hopes that during Piñera's official visit to Peru on November 25 the matter will be discussed in greater detail.

The proposal for the integration project was presented by Peru's former Finance Minister and presidential economic adviser Mercedes Araoz to Chilean Foreign Minister Alfredo Moreno during Araoz's visit to Chile this week.

The free movement of goods would aim to give the products of the five countries a competitive advantage compared to goods imported from third party countries.

The proposal also outlines a plan of improving customs infrastructure between the countries to make them more unified and more efficient in land, sea and air border checks. An important upshot of the plan would be to make South America’s Pacific coast countries more trade-friendly with Asian markets.

The plan also calls for policies that would reduce travel restrictions, with the aim of giving a positive boost to the flow of tourists, and which would promote the free movement of capital and financial services, with the hope of increasing direct investment and real estate sales among the five countries. The initiative would also make it easier for the public to access bank accounts, loans and credit cards.(Andina)