The Central American Armed Forces Conference (CAFC) convened a meeting on Wednesday at Nicaragua's capital Managua to discuss actions against drug dealing, fundamentalist terrorism and organized crime.

The meeting, due to last until Thursday, is the 13th ordinary session of the CAFC's Superior Council and the first meeting of the organization since Nicaragua assumed the temporal presidency for the 2004-2005 period.

It is attended by the chief of the Nicaraguan Army and president of this organization, Javier Carrion, along with Guatemalan Defense Minister Cesar Mendez, Salvadoran Defense Minister Juan Martinez, Honduran Joint Chief of Staff Jose Barahona, and observers from Germany, France, Spain, the DominicanRepublic and the United States.

The CAFC was founded on November 12, 1997 through an accord between the presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. It strives to enhance regional military security and integration.

At the opening ceremony, Carrion urged Central American militaries to make joint efforts to pursue cooperation when dealing with natural disasters and crime.

He called on the region's armed forces to prevent the appearance of "weak zones" and the incidence of illegal groups.

Source: Xinhua