The second International Workshop on the South Atlantic Peace
and Cooperation Zone opened in Montevideo Wednesday participated by
all of its 24 member countries.
"This is an excellent opportunity to continue securing
political, economic, trade and cultural relations," Uruguayan
Deputy Foreign Minister Belela Herrera said in her opening
speech.
"It has been a pioneer South-South cooperation mechanism," she
said, adding that Uruguay, which holds the current presidency of
the group of nations with an Atlantic coastline, plans to establish
diplomatic ties with eight African countries in the region.
Angola's UN Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins was to co-chair the
three-day meeting, which is expected to end with a document of
recommendations for a ministerial conference in June in the Angolan
capital Luanda.
Herrera praised Angola as "a successful example of political and
economic reconstruction, after one of the 20th century's longest
African conflicts."
The South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone was created in
1986 through a UN resolution on Brazil's initiative, with the aim
of promoting cooperation in politics and other fields in the
region.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2007)
