Russia applies for observer status at Central American integration system

MOSCOW, March 27. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov handed Russia’s request to join the Central American Integration System /SICA/ as an extra-regional observer, the Russian foreign ministry said on the official website on Friday. At a meeting in Guatemala Lavrov and his counterparts from the SICA member countries agreed to ink and then begin to implement the document on cooperation that includes five key lines of integration. The ministers called for promotion of regional cooperation and for interaction in regional security and in the fight against drug trafficking. Along with this, the ministers came forward with an initiative to encourage students in the SICA countries to learn the Russian language and students in Russia to learn Spanish. "They have agreed to provide assistance in organising meetings between business circles in Russia and SICA member countries, as well as to encourage and support trade, provide assistance in programmes on training in trade professions and to determine possible spheres of investment collaboration that would make it possible to form mutual trade flows and flows oriented at markets in third countries," the statement says. The SICA foreign ministers handed the Russian foreign minister an invitation for Russia to join the Central American Bank for Economic Integration as an extra-regional observer and also suggested that Russia would become the country cooperating with the region on democratic security issues. The Central American Integration System /called SICA from its Spanish acronym - Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana/ or a free-trade zone was established in 1991 for solving the tasks of economic cooperation. First six countries - Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama - signed agreements with the organisation. Nowadays, SICA tackles political problems along with education, culture and environmental protection. Read more