S. American FMs call for closer energy cooperation

Foreign ministers of the South American Community of Nations (CSN) called in Santiago on Friday for closer energy cooperation, to overcome the energy imbalance facing member countries, with some suffering from a shortage while others were enjoying a surplus.

The ministers were here for a preparative meeting for the CSN summit to be held on Dec. 8 and Dec. 9 in the Bolivian city Cochabamba. The energy integration between CSN countries is expected to be one of the main topics at the summit.

"Energy integration should be one of the basic elements in this development phase in the region," Peru's visiting foreign minister Jose Antonio Garcia Belaunde told media.

"We need to lend critical mass (energy) to the interests that unite us most. We have so many things in common. Let's stop further fighting. Let us stop distracting each other with foreign policy differences," he said.

Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said that the foreign ministers' meeting had helped generate clarity and reduce the mistrust between nations, alluding to Brazil's recent energy dispute with Bolivia, which is undergoing a nationalization process of its hydrocarbons industry previously dominated by Brazilian companies.

The CSN faces many challenges, said Venezuela's Nicholas Maduro. "We have to be able to guarantee energy security in the region for 100 years,"

The South American Community of Nations was established in 2004 with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela as members.

Source: Xinhua