Experts Arrive in Ecuador for UNASUR Meeting

  According to the program of the meeting, the sessions of which will be held at the Oro Verde Hotel in the port city of Manta, the vice ministers will go on Wednesday from Quito to Eloy Alfaro Air Force Base, at the former US base, in the vicinity of that city.

Delegates from the 12 Defense ministries, experts in Measures to Foster Confidence and Security will participate in the preliminary meeting on Tuesday to define strategies and proceedings that will be discussed in the meeting sessions on Thursday and Friday.

On Thursday, January 28 at 09:30 hours, local time, the vice ministers of the 11 foreign delegations and that from Ecuador will approve the agenda and analyze the proposal of Proceeding to Implement Measures to Foster Confidence and Security.

They will also approve the UNASUR Peace and Cooperation Protocol and revise the South American strategies in the Air Mobility Command's White Book.

On Friday, January 29, they will deal with the Strategic Sector Study Project, review the report of progress and execution of the 2009-2010 Action Plan and update the Plan for the 2010-2011 period.

On Friday afternoon, they will approve the aspects dealt with in the second executive analysis and travel to Quito later the same day for the majority to return to their countries.

Although it is not a point in the agenda, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Javier Ponce announced that they would take advantage of this meeting to define the issues that the heads of State and government would discuss with the US government, about its military agreement with Colombia.