Nuclear-free zone to be declared in South America

RTw 7/22/98 3:48 PM

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In Buenos Aires story headlined "South America to declare itself nuclear-free zone" please read headline to read "Nuclear-free zone to be declared in South America" (clarifying not all of region involved).

Story with corrected headline follows:

By Axel Bugge

BUENOS AIRES, July 22 (Reuters) - Leaders of South America's Mercosur trade bloc plan to declare their region a "zone of peace" free of weapons of mass destruction when they meet this week in the Argentine town of Ushuaia.

The move follows an outcry against nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan and underlines the trade group's ambitious drive to expand and win respectability abroad.

The leaders of Mercosur members Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and of associate members Chile and Bolivia, meet in the world's southermost city Ushuaia on Thursday and Friday.

"Mercosur, Bolivia and Chile will be declared a zone of peace and free of arms of mass destruction," said an Argentine Foreign Ministry brief on the summit obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. Argentina now holds the revolving Mercosur presidency.

"Peace constitutes an essential element for the continuation and the development of the integration of Mercosur," it said.

The declaration would solder the region's support of nuclear nonproliferation just weeks after regional superpower Brazil ratified its adherence to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and its inclusion in the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso signed the treaties on July 13 during a visit to Brazi I by U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan, who urged other countries to follow suit.

The zone-of-peace declaration will mark another step in ending simmering territorial disputes in a once conflict-torn region. Argentina and Chile have had border disputes most of this century.

Chile's possible purchase of advanced fighter jets this year raised eyebrows in Buenos Aires but Argentine President Carlos Menem said he was not concerned about the move.

Last year the United States dropped its 20-year embargo on sales of advanced warplanes and other weapons to Latin America due to the new-found peace in the region.

In Ushuaia the presidents will also ponder the backing given on Wednesday by the European Union Commission to open free trade talks with Mercosur.

The EU executive approved the move despite strong opposition from European farmers who fear a flood of cheap food imports.

"The liberalisation of agriculture trade is a central worry for Mercosur. If there is no free trade (in agriculture), it is going to be very hard to reach agreement with the European Union," Brazilian Industry Minister Jose Botafogo Goncalvez said Tuesday.

The presidents are also expected to give equal treatment for companies from any Mercosur member which take part in public sector tenders in another country and create common standards for financial services and transport across the region.

However, the group is not expected to agree on unified auto trade rules Mich officials had hoped would be ready. The pact is 80 percent ready, Argentine Foreign Ministry officials said.