827 OF 2003

(July 10)

Official Journal No. 45,248 of 14 July 2003

PUBLIC POWER-LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

By means of which the Foreign Ministry's Rotary Fund is authorized to assume the annual contribution of the Colombian Council of Cooperation in the Pacific (Colpecc) to the Economic Cooperation Council of the Pacific (PECC).

COLOMBIA CONGRESS

DECRETA:

ARTICLE 1o. Authorize the Foreign Ministry's Rotary Fund to cancel the annual contribution of the Colombian Council of Cooperation in the Pacific (Colpecc) to the Cooperation Council. Pacific Economic, (PECC).

ARTICLE 2o. This law governs from the date of its publication.

The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

LUIS ALFREDO RAMOS BOTERO.

The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

EMILIO RAMON OTERO DAJUD.

The President of the honorable House of Representatives,

WILLIAM VELEZ MESA.

The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,

ANGELINO LIZANO RIVERA.

COLOMBIA REPUBLIC-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT

PUBLISH AND COMPLY.

Dada en Bogotá, D. C., 10 July 2003.

ALVARO URIBE VELEZ

The Deputy Foreign Minister, in charge of the functions of the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs,

FORWARD LENIENCY.

The Minister of Finance and Public Credit,

ALBERTO CARRASQUILLA BARRIER.

BILL OF LAW 197 OF 2001 SENADO

By means of which the Foreign Ministry's Rotary Fund is authorized to assume the annual contribution of the Colombian Council of Cooperation in the Pacific, Colpecc, to the Economic Cooperation Council of the Pacific, PECC.

THE CONGRESS OF COLOMBIA

DECRETA:

ARTICLE 1A. Authorize the Foreign Ministry's Rotary Fund to cancel the annual contribution of the Colombian Council of Cooperation in the Pacific (Colpecc) to the Cooperation Council. Pacific Economic (PECC).

ARTICLE 2A. This law governs from the date of its publication.

Dada en Bogotá, D. C., a los ...

Presented to the honorable Congress of the Republic by the undersigned Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Finance and Public Credit.

The Foreign Minister,

GUILLERMO FERNANDEZ DE SOTO.

The Minister of Finance and Public Credit,

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS CALDERÓN.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Honorable Senators and Representatives:

On behalf of the National Government and in compliance with the provisions of Articles 150 and 226 of the Political Constitution of the Republic of Colombia, we have the honor to submit to your consideration the Bill by means of which is authorized to the Rotary Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to assume the contribution of the Colombian Council of Cooperation in the Pacific, Colpecc, at the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, PECC.

Colombian Government has an interest in promoting the country's real integration into the economic dynamics of the Pacific Rim, emphasizing the sustained increase in economic relations with the countries of East Asia and in cooperation with the international organizations operating in the region, under the recognition that the continent of greater extent and population has had a considerable economic takeoff and has countries such as Japan and China within the most powerful economies of the region. world. Nobody escapes the prominent geoeconomic position that the Pacific Rim occupies in the current international system.

COLOMBIA IN THE PACIFIC BASIN

Through a greater insertion of Colombia into the Pacific Basin more diversification of markets and products is generated, access to new technologies is facilitated by promoting the development of the Colombian Pacific Litoral, in harmony with the mandate expressed in article 226 of our Political Constitution: " The State will promote the internationalization of political, economic, social and ecological relations on the basis of equity, reciprocity and national convenience. "

The Asia Pacific region became a short period in development and economic growth, at the epicenter of trade and investment at the international level, at the forefront of technology and in a real scenario of integration, cooperation and open regionalism. According to World Bank projections for 2010, East Asia, the region with the highest growth in the Basin, will account for 34.6% of global GDP and 39% of global trade.

The definition of the Pacific Basin is varied. Geographically it is up to the countries that have as common denominator to be located on the same ocean. Nevertheless, the axis of its existence is the important process of interrelation, interdependence and economic and commercial cooperation existing between the countries bordering the Pacific, generating the conformation of a dynamic region and increasingly open.

the countries of the Asia-Pacific have pursued a kind of modern integration: flexible, agile, eminently commercial and with a constant participation of the private sector in response to the lack of power to adjust to the irruption of power. political and economic in East Asia.

With the end of the Cold War and the high level of regional economic interdependence, the focus of global attention has shifted from political and ideological rivalry to interdependence and economic and trade conflicts, sharing the idea that more free and undistorted trade will maximise the benefits for the region.

PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION COUNCIL, PECC

The Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, PECC, emerged on the initiative of Japan and Australia at the First Conference on Economic Cooperation in the Pacific, held in Canberra in 1980, under the recognition of the broad-based economic and social prospects for international cooperation and exchange for Pacific Rim nations and has been consolidated as a non-governmental, tripartite body dedicated to promoting economic cooperation in the Pacific Rim.

The PECC has the function of forecasting economic opportunities and also the difficulties that may arise for businesses and for governmental initiatives in the field of economic and commercial integration. In this way he has become a promoter of policies and research on the economic dynamics of the Pacific Rim.

The PECC brings together the highest officials of governments, academics with national and international recognition, and entrepreneurs committed to the free exchange and promotion of open trade, in order to share perspectives and experiences in search of concerted and consensual responses to regional economic problems.

The PECC is comprised of the economies of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Korea, Chile, China, Colombia, Ecuador, United States, Philippines, Pacific Islands Forum, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand and Vietnam and as Associates participate in France, for their territories in the Pacific Ocean, and Mongolia. The term "economies" is used in the PECC to accommodate situations such as Hong Kong and Taiwan, without having to give them international recognition as sovereign states.

The composition of the committees of the different economies is tripartite. The national committees are involved in the participation of top executives of companies, academia and government. This composition seeks the maximum result of the contribution made by each of these sectors for the best use of the dynamics of the Pacific Basin. The tripartite scheme aims to develop the economic dynamics of the region driven by the company, with the support of the government and with the ingredient of academic analysis.

Therefore, the PECC was not created by Treaty and has no established quotas as is the case for international governmental bodies, but each national committee makes an annual contribution.

Several member countries make their contributions to the PECC from the budget of their Foreign Ministries.

The PECC works in principle with a low level of institutionalization and a reduced administrative apparatus. The structure of the PECC is minimal, it includes a General Assembly every two years, a General Secretariat in Singapore, a Standing Committee that is the executive body, made up of the 25 committees of the economies that are part of the PECC and two members institutions with limited capacity. The structure also includes the Coordinating Group, which is composed of the coordinators of the working groups and generates the work plan of the PECC. Each working group is made up of representatives of member economies who want to participate.

The goal of the PECC is to promote economic growth and development in the Pacific region. Within this framework objective, the PECC has the following specific objectives:

-Helping members to cope with globalization in a successful way.

-Prevent the autarky of economies

-Fight the isolationist mentality and maintain the thrust of openness, including open regionalism.

-Promote, through multilateral, informal and non-exclusive consultations, regional growth.

-Sharing the costs and benefits of cooperation.

-Promote deliberations and studies aimed at pursuing pragmatic and consensus-based policies.

Strengthen the multilateral exchange system, regional liberalization, trade facilitation, and development cooperation for all economies participating in PECC.

The PECC has a recognized trajectory of study and analysis of issues such as trade policy, financial markets, agricultural, mining and service sectors.

The objectives of the PECC are achieved mainly through the programs of the following working groups, -task forces-and forums: Science and Technology, Energy, Financial Markets, Food and Agriculture Forum, Human Talent, Minerals, Projections and Economic Structures, Sustainable Cities, Information Industry and Telecommunications, Tourism, Trade Policy, and Transportation.

These working groups create a highly favorable dynamic for the insertion of the different economies in the Pacific Basin, constituting for the Colombian case a useful and economic mechanism to access the benefits of growth. Economic and monetary policy. These groups, task forces and forums organise seminars and workshops, conduct studies and publish their conclusions and recommendations for the benefit of the Pacific Community. In this sense, it is necessary to continue working to achieve greater awareness of the different national sectors on the importance of the dynamic insertion of Colombia into the Pacific Basin.

The PECC has established itself as a non-governmental, tripartite body dedicated to promoting economic cooperation in the Pacific Rim. In this way he has become a promoter of policies and research, serving as a catalyst for economic development in the region.

In the context of globalization, the PECC has helped, through the interaction of the various member economies, to formulate long-term development policies, which have been useful for dealing with periods of crisis in some of the economies of the region. The PECC has stimulated open regionalism in the Pacific Rim. Finally, the constant realization of forums and meetings of the working groups in the different areas of the PECC's work has allowed the formulation and execution of specific projects that benefit the economic dynamics of the Pacific and every economy in particular.

COLOMBIAN PACIFIC COOPERATION COMMITTEE, COLPECC

The Colombian Committee for Cooperation in the Pacific, Colpecc, was created by Decree 1410 of 1987 as the Advisory Council of the National Government, attached to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and amended by Decree 1373 of 1992, which established its structure to give greater participation to the business and academic sectors. The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the President of the Colpecc (Article 3 of Decree 1410 of 1987).

According to the Constitution Decree, the objectives of the Colpecc are as follows:

-Orienting the national capacity towards the knowledge of the countries of the Pacific Basin, of their resources, both academic and economic, technical, scientific and governmental, as well as their own, for promote their exchange and integrate it into the harmonious development of the country.

-Identify and promote the execution of trade programs with Pacific Rim coastal countries.

And the functions of the Colpecc are:

-Study and recommend channels of communication with countries and international organizations operating in the region.

-Propose technical and scientific cooperation mechanisms that tend to develop the Colombian Pacific Litoral.

-To advise the National Government on the adoption of pan-peaceful plans and programs.

-Evaluate the development of plans, programs or projects to be promoted by the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, PECC.

The Colpecc was admitted as an associate member of the PECC in 1992 and as a full member in 1994.

The Colpecc advances advocacy and dissemination on issues related to the insertion of Colombia into the Pacific Rim through the organization, coordination and participation in business, academic and research events with the which has strengthened its national image. To this end, the Colpecc studies and recommends channels of communication with the countries and international organizations that act in the region and guides the national capacity towards the knowledge of the countries of the Pacific basin and its resources. academic, economic, business, technical, scientific and governmental, in order to promote the exchange, integration and harmonious development of the country.

In the 1995-1998 period, the Colombian Isaac Tachman held the position of the Administrative and Budget Director of the PECC.

Coleccias, through Colciencias, coordinates with the Committee of Taipei, China, the PECC's science and technology working group, since September 1997.

In September 1996, the meetings of the Standing Committee and the PECC Coordinating Group were held in Cartagena. In Cali, the workshop on the commercialization of technology, organized by the Working Group on Science and Technology, took place. For the first time, on that occasion, it was in Latin America.

It is appropriate to emphasize that both the desire to enjoy the benefits deriving from the membership of this international economic forum, that they respond to the need to encourage foreign investment and the search for the realization of projects in the Colombian Pacific Litoral as the importance that the National Government has assigned since 1990 to the work being carried out by the PECC in favor of the development of cooperation among the countries belonging to the It is sufficient reasons to support the legitimate interest of the government that is leading it today to submit the consideration of the honorable National Congress this bill.

Of the honorable Senators and Representatives.

The Foreign Minister,

GUILLERMO FERNANDEZ DE SOTO.

The Minister of Finance and Public Credit,

JUAN MANUEL SANTOS CALDERÓN.

1998 Law 424

(January 13)

By which the international conventions signed by Colombia are ordered to follow.

COLOMBIA CONGRESS

DECRETA:

ARTICLE 1o. The National Government through the Foreign Ministry will submit annually to the Senate and Chamber of Foreign Relations Committees, and within the first thirty days of the period after the This is a detailed report on how the existing International Conventions signed by Colombia are being complied with and developed with others.

ARTICLE 2o. Each dependency of the National Government charged with implementing the International Treaties of its competence and requiring reciprocity in them, will transfer the relevant information to the Ministry of Foreign and East relations, to the Second Commissions.

ARTICLE 3o. The full text of this law shall be incorporated as an annex to any and all International Conventions that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents to the Congress.

ARTICLE 4. This law governs from its enactment.

The President of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

AMILKAR ACOSTA MEDINA.

The Secretary General of the honorable Senate of the Republic,

PEDRO PUMAREJO VEGA.

The President of the honorable House of Representatives,

CARLOS SQUIRLA BALLESTEROS.

The Secretary General of the honorable House of Representatives,

DIEGO VIVAS TAFUR.

REPUBLIC OF COLOMBIA-NATIONAL GOVERNMENT.

PUBLISH AND EXECUTE.

Dada en Santa Fe de Bogota, D. C., on January 13, 1998.

ERNESTO SAMPER PIZANO

The Foreign Minister,

MARIA EMMA MEJIA VELEZ.