Together with the European and Western dimension, which is the central axis of Spanish foreign policy, Latin America is another key area.

In recent years, Spain's ties with all the Latin American countries have become much closer in the cultural, economical, political, scientific and technological fields, both in bilateral and multilateral relations. Accordingly, an attempt has been made to develop a bilaterally and overall co-operation model. In particular, important and ambitious Friendship and Co-operation Treaties have been signed with Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, Chile, Brazil and Colombia. At the multilateral level, Spain is a member of CEPAL, it has permanent observer status in the OAS and is also active as an observer in the Andean Pact, the ALADI, etc.

Membership of the European Community brought a new dimension into the Latin America policy pursued by Spain, which has tried at all times to support the economic and commercial interests of Latin America within the European Community and to direct attention to Latin America.

Especially significant was the setting up of the Latin American Conference and the four Summits of Heads of State and Government held so far, as well as the events held in 1992 to commemorate the Quincentenary of the Discovery of America. Going on from the summits held previously in Guadalajara (Mexico, 1991), Madrid (Spain,1992) and Salvador de Bahia (Brazil,1993), the meeting at Cartagena de Indias (Colombia, 1994) has stressed once again that the Latin American Conference is the most suitable forum within our political area for the co-ordination and co-operation, based on a commitment to representative democracy, the protection and promotion of human rights, the validity of the principles of international law, the principles of sovereignty and non-interference and the right of each nation to freely build up its own political and economic system.

The special feature of the 4th. Summit was its emphasis on the need to stimulate regional processes of economic integration, through free trade agreements, and in a call for better access to international markets, emphasizing the role of Spain and Portugal as appropriate points of contact with Europe, in order to promote a more equitable and balanced development.

The venue for the 5th. Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Latin American Countries, in 1995, is Bariloche (Argentina).

The main features of the works and conclusions of the Summits have been set out in Final Documents, concerning trade, integration and the economic and social development of the Latin American Community, and other aspects of the Latin American Conference. If you need the texts of these Final Documents, please write to CASA DE AMERICA, in Madrid, and ask for the DOCUMENTACION CUMBRES DE JEFES DE ESTADO Y DE GOBIERNO IBEROAMERICANOS. Postal address:

     CASA DE AMERICA
     Centro de Informacion y Documentacion
     Palacio de Linares
     Plaza de Cibeles, s/n
     28001 MADRID (Spain)

The documentation is available in Spanish and Portuguese and it is ready to load in your PC (With MS DOS 3.3 minimum).

Thank-you, very much