Costa Rica is the EU's main Central American partner
Central America and the European Union (EU) will begin tomorrow in Costa Rica, with the participation of some 200 delegates, the first round of negotiations to sign a "historic" association agreement, which will include a free trade treaty, cooperation and political dialogue.
Costa Rica's Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that more than 200 delegates from Central America and the EU will extend the dialogue with a view to establishing "a privileged strategic relationship" between the two regional blocs.
"This is an unprecedented process that goes beyond a simple trade agreement, as it includes two other equally important aspects: political dialogue and cooperation," highlighted Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno.
He added that "we are beginning an arduous process, full of challenges and opportunities, with the conviction that a mature dialogue will lead both blocs to mutual benefits and create the conditions for Central American development aspirations," said the Costa Rican foreign minister.
According to the agenda, the negotiation will be inaugurated tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. local time (11:00 p.m. GMT) with the presence of representatives from Central America, the EU and the Vice President of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla.
For this first round, which will conclude on Friday the 26th, no major progress is expected, as both regions will focus on establishing the working methodology that will govern the talks and possibly setting an agenda for future rounds.
The negotiating teams from each Central American country will be headed by a "rotating" spokesperson, who will be from the host country of each round.
Central America will be represented by chief negotiators Roberto Echandi (Costa Rica), Manuel Coronel (Nicaragua), Eduardo Calix (El Salvador), Ana María Dieguez (Guatemala) and Enrique Reina (Honduras).
Panama, which will participate as an "observer", plans to send its head of international trade negotiations, Leroy Sheffer.
This partnership agreement has generated high expectations among Central American governments, as they hope to consolidate and expand access for their products to a market representing 500 million people and to strengthen diplomatic relations and cooperation.
El Salvador's foreign minister, Francisco Laínez, told EFE on Friday that the atmosphere in his country is "very optimistic" and "jubilant" because the agreement "will bring greater investment opportunities and access to markets for Salvadorans and that, definitely, this will have to result in economic growth."
For her part, the Salvadoran Minister of Economy, Yolanda de Gavidia, explained that in the first round "there will not only be an approach between the twelve working groups as a starting point, but we will listen carefully to what the EU's expectations will be."
The negotiating authorities estimate that about ten rounds of negotiations will be necessary and that the agreement could be finalized by the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009.
According to data from the Central American Integration System (SICA), Central America exported a total of 2.287 billion dollars to the EU in 2006 and imported 3.305 billion dollars.
Costa Rica is the EU's main Central American partner, selling $1.288 billion to that region (43 percent of the region's total) and importing $1.519 billion, equivalent to 54 percent of the regional total.
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