EU-Latin America Summit Tops Rupel, Ugarte Meeting
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel met on Thursday his Costa Rican counterpart Bruno Stagno Ugarte. The pair, meeting at the sidelines of the 9th ministerial of the Human Security Network, discussed bilateral relations and the EU-Latin America summit in May next year.
The ministers agreed that relations between the countries were good and discussed possibilities for boosting cooperation, said Rupel, who presented options for increasing trade through the Slovenian port of Koper.
The pair also discussed the Slovenian stint at the helm of the EU in the first half of 2008, during which the EU-Latin America and Caribbean summit will take place in Lima, Peru, and discussed relations between the EU and Costa Rica.
Rupel explained that Costa Rica, the most developed country in Central America, played an important role in the EU-Central America Association Agreement process, which would be an important topic of the 5th EU-Latin America summit.
According to Rupel, the summit in Lima will not be an easy one, but he sees Costa Rica as an assistant in seeking suitable compromises.
According to the Foreign Ministry, Rupel told Ugarte that he was pleased that the EU-Latin America summit would take place during Slovenian EU presidency.
Ugarte meanwhile said that the EU-Central America Association Agreement was extremely important for Costa Rica, which wants to strengthen its trade ties with the EU. He hopes that it will be possible to announce substantial progress regarding the agreement at the summit in Lima.
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