The 23rd Presidential Summit Meeting of MERCOSUR was held in Buenos Aires on June 30, with the participation of the President of Chile and the Foreign Minister of Bolivia, representing President Banzer. It was preceded on June 29 by a meeting of the Council of the Common Market, Bolivia, and Chile.
At that Summit, the Presidents signed the "Charter of Buenos Aires on Social Commitment in MERCOSUR, Bolivia, and Chile," a fundamental document the purpose of which is to strengthen the social dimension of MERCOSUR through the implementation of strategies and joint efforts of the six countries to combat poverty and other social ills affecting the region, with a particular focus on the most vulnerable sectors of society. The operative portion of the Charter of Buenos Aires requests the Political Consultation and Coordination Forum to monitor the guidelines and actions contained in the Charter, and to establish an institutional basis for meetings of authorities responsible for social development. The Presidents also signed a joint communique in which they reaffirmed the importance of greater participation by Chile and Bolivia in MERCOSUR forums, reiterated their adherence to the democratic commitment adopted in Ushuaia and the declaration of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile as a zone of peace, agreed on the need to strengthen the social dimension of MERCOSUR and to make further progress in coordinating macroeconomic policies and, among other declarations, pointed to the concrete progress achieved in the Political Consultation and Coordination Forum on behalf of the citizens of the area. The Foreign Ministers, meeting in the Common Market Council, adopted the following decisions forwarded from the Political Consultation, and Coordination Forum: Among other tasks, the Working Group on Consular and Juridical Affairs is to study proposals for the elimination of visas, simplified legalization procedures and a bilingual format for public documents. It will also arrange seminars on legal organization within MERCOSUR.
