SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMAZON COOPERATION COUNCIL (CCA)

Minute

The Special Meeting of the Amazon Cooperation Council (CCA) began at nine o´clock on May 14th at the headquarters of Itamaraty Palace in the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Presiding at the meeting was His Excellency Ambassador Gonçalo de Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourão, Interim General Secretary for Latin America of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Brazil. The delegations were headed by Their Excellencies; José Alberto González Samaniego, Ambassador to Brazil of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Minister Clemente Baena Soares, Director of the Department of South America II of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Brazil; Ambassador Alejandro Borda, Chief of the Office of Territorial Sovereignty and Border Development of the Republic of Colombia; Minister Miguel Vasco, of the Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador in Brazil; Mr. Harry Narine Nawbatt, Ambassador to Brazil of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana; Minister Luis Arribasplata, Consul General of Peru in Rio de Janeiro; Mr. Robby Ramlakhan, Ambassador, responsible for the subject of OTCA within the Ministry of Foreign Relations of the Republic of Suriname; and Mr. Maximilien Arvelaez, Ambassador to Brazil of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. In addition, SP/OTCA was represented by Ambassador Manuel Picasso, General Secretary; Ambassador Mauricio Dorfler, Executive Director, and Mr. Flavio Sottomayor, Administrative Director. The complete list of delegates and auxiliaries may be found as Appendix I of these Proceedings.

The subjects of the meeting were:

COMMERCIAL NAVIGATION ON THE AMAZON RIVERS

The plenary received a report on suggestions produced at the Meeting on Commercial Navigation on International Rivers of the Amazon, held in the city of Rio de Janeiro from May 12 -13, 2010. After consideration, the Plenary approved the suggestions and called for Member Countries to designate delegates who will comprise the Working Group created at this time, in order to lend continuity to negotiations. The suggestions approved are in Appendix 2. The delegation from Colombia confirmed its offer to provide a venue for the next meeting of the Working Group treating this theme in the city of Bogotá.

CRITERIA FOR A NEW 2011 BUDGET PROJECT AND A NEW ORGANIZATIONAL CHART PROJECT OF SP/OTCA

The Members of the Council agreed regarding the budgetary difficulties of SP/OTCA, which are the fruit of the loss of value of the quotas of approximately 70%, having been caused by losses related to variation in the value of the type of exchange and to inflation. It was recognized the discussion of the organizational structure of SP/OTCA is linked to budgetary availability, and for this reason this discussion depends on the solution of financial limitations. At the same time, definition of the necessary budget is related to the mandates granted to SP/OTCA, while these in turn are linked to the role to be defined by Member Countries. In this regard, the importance was recognized of having an organization that is efficient and result-oriented.

At the same time, the Members of the Council recognized the presence of an emergency situation that demands that efforts be made in order to encounter a short-term solution. With this end in mind, it was suggested that an Ad Hoc Working Group be established, made up of the Focal Points of the Chancelleries, in order to explore alternatives to be proposed to CCA. In addition, it was agreed that among the options for confronting financial limitations are: (a) that the payment of pending quotas be facilitated; (b) that internal consultations begin in order to consider the up-dating of the value of quotas beginning in 2012 at the latest; (c) to examine the current organizational chart of PS/ACTO and to consider a reorganization of the same, and (c) that the possibility be explored to provide for special contributions until the basic problem is resolved. As an input to the process for justification of the increase in the value of quotas, SP/OTCA was requested to develop the pertinent documentation.

GUIDELINES FOR RELATIONS WITH INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

The Council recognized the relevance of cooperation for the functioning of the organization, and expressed its interest in strengthening its relations with cooperating sources and at the same time in clarifying the same. The Council carried out an analysis of proposals for guidelines for the relation with international cooperation and of the Resolution project that regulates procedures, mechanisms, and terms for the consideration, negotiation, and subscription of agreement proposals between the Permanent Secretariat and third countries, international organizations, and other entities.

The Members of the Council expressed the various aspects that they consider necessary to be recorded in the instruments presented, and concluded with approval of the agreed upon text presented in Appendix 3.

The Council recognized the difficult situation that is facing PS/ACTO because of its fragile financial situation and expressed its concern that resources are received from cooperation sources, including those forcovering current expenses.

It emphasized that SP/OTCA hascontinued to present detailed information about the projects that receive resources from international cooperation, and the Council recommended that reports that describe the projects and their status continue to be sent to Member Countries.

BASIC WORKING DOCUMENT FOR THE NEW STRATEGIC AGENDA OF AMAZONIAN COOPERATION

The Council received the base document that had been previously presented in the Workshop on Exchange of Experience of the Focal Points of the Ministries of Foreign Relations Responsible to OTCA. The delegates expressed their congratulations to SP/OTCA for preparation of the document and for the beginning of the process, considered it to be a point of departure for the strategic future of the organization. The delegates of Member Countries shall send their complementary comments by next June 21 at the latest, and SP/OTCA shall consolidate these comments and distribute them among the cited Focal Points.

In order to lend continuity to the process of building a strategic agenda, the Council decided that the above-mentioned Ad Hoc Working Group shall prepare an adjusted proposal for considerationat the next Ordinary Meeting of the CCA. The base document may be found in Appendix 4.

PROJECT OF NEW REGULATIONS

Moreover, the Council decided that, through the Ad Hoc Working Groupof the CCOOR, SP/OTCA shall continue to work on the up-dating of the five regulations currently in effect. In this sense, it was agreed that Member Countries shall, before June 21, send their comments and initial points of view based on the forms distributed previously by SP/OTCA.

ADMINISTRATIVE – FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT PROJECT

A preliminary document was presented on the theme, and it was decided that Member Countries shall send their comments on the proposed contents to SP/OTCA. Moreover, SP/OTCA shall work on a document and will circulate a revised version.

OTHER SUBJECTS

The Council took note of an invitation from Suriname for a meeting of specialists of Member Countries of the OTCA on the REDD+ theme before the next Conference of Parties to the CMNUCC to be held in Mexico. To this end, it will send the corresponding communications, using formal channels, and requested the technical support of SP/OTCA.

The Delegation of Bolivia distributed to Members of the Council a document entitled Agreement of Peoples produced at the World Conference of Peoples on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth. It expressed its interest in participating in the meeting that will be called by Suriname. The Council expressed its congratulations to the Government of Bolivia for having held the above-cited event.

The General Secretary of OTCA thanked the delegations for their presence, as well as expressing his thanks, on behalf of the Permanent Secretariat of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, to the Government of Brazil for its offer to host these meetings and for the attention it provided.

Upon completion of the Special Meeting of CCA, the delegations expressed their appreciation and congratulations to the Government of Brazil and the Permanent Secretariat for the excellent organization of this meeting and the kindness received by all Council members.

It was decided that the Amazon Cooperation Council shall hold its XIV Ordinary Session in the city of Lima, Peru, tentatively in November, which shall precede the tenth Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

The Chairman of the Meeting declared the deliberations closed at six forty five p.m.

For the Plurinational State of Bolivia / For the Federative Republic of Brazil
For the Government of the Republic of
Colombia / Fort the Republic of Ecuador
For the Government of the Cooperative
Republic of Guyana / For the Government of the Republic of Peru
For the Government of the Republic of
Suriname / For the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMAZON COOPERATION COUNCIL (CCA)

APPENDIX I

LIST OF DELEGATES PRESENT

Plurinacional State of Bolivia

Ambassador José Alberto González Samaniego

Dr. Walter Clarens Endara

Federative Republic of Brazil

Ambassador Gonçalo de Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourão

Minister Clemente Baena Soares

Secretary Lauro de Castro Beltrão Filho

Secretary Hayle Gadelha

Chancellery Official Sergio Luiz Pereira

Republic of Colombia

Ambassador Alejandro Borda

Ambassador Maria Elvira Pombo Holguín

Dr. Carlos Carretero

Republic of Ecuador

Minister Miguel Vasco

Counselor Franklin Quishpe

Mr. Ramiro Bonilla, Ecorae

Cooperative Republic of Guyana

Ambassador Harry Narine Nawbatt

Republic of Peru

Minister Luis Arribasplata

Miniater Councilor Maria Pilar Castro

Secretary Raúl Meneses

Republic of Suriname

Ambassador Robby Ramlakhan

Secretary Fariza Blokland

Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Ambassador Maximillien Arveláez

Ms. Sara Caballero

Ms. Marlene Davargem

SP/OTCA

General Secretary, Ambassador Manuel Picasso

Executive Director, Ambassador Mauricio Dorfler

Administrative Director, Flávio Sottomayor

Coordinator of Infrastructure, Transport, Communications, and Tourism, Donald Sinclair

Coordinator for Indigenous Affairs, Jan Tawjoeram

Coordinator for The Environment, Antonio Matamoros

Coordinator for Health, Antonio Restrepo

Coordinator for Science, Technology, and Education, Germán Gómez