Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1st, 2004 - In Valparaiso, the President of Chile, Ricardo Lagos, opened the Third Plenary Meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Americas (FIPA), whose agenda included the topics of terrorism and democracy.

The meeting was held at the Chilean Legislature in Valparaiso, 120 km west of Santiago, and was attended by 120 delegates –including 97 parliamentarians– from 23 countries in the Western Hemisphere.

The three main topics discussed at the meeting were: terrorism and the democracies of the Americas; negotiations toward the Free-Trade Area of the Americas; and tax and tax-harmonization systems.

President Lagos warned of the threat of terrorism, “which does not accept civilized rules,” and emphasized that the countries of the Americas as a whole now face a distinct challenge from terrorism.

The Chilean President stated: “It is necessary that we work to combat terrorism, since it affects us all. As a result of recent events, we must all feel that we are New Yorkers and Madrileños. We must look at how we deal with terrorism in the area of foreign policy.”

On the issue of free trade, Lagos called for an intensification of trade discussions beyond the scope of the FTAA, since agreements “do not take into account the overall needs of a world in which trade is going to increase.”

The President of FIPA, Canadian Senator Céline Hervieux-Payette, noted that governments must realize that, in the new world order, parliamentary participation in international policy is more relevant than ever.

In this regard, she emphasized that they must continue to strive to ensure that such participation is active, responsible and constructive and that its main thrust is to promote the common welfare of our peoples.

The Canadian legislator expressed concern that, while FIPA attended the FTAA ministerial summit in Miami as a guest, it has no official role in the FTAA process being advanced by the United States.

Accordingly, she called on legislators in all the countries to seek their governments’ support for such participation, so that it can be seen as a joint parliamentary effort.

Before the start of the working sessions, Chilean Senator Sergio Romero was elected chairman of the meeting, which is being attended by parliamentarians from Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Surinam and Venezuela.

The meeting is also being attended by officials from the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

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