The leader of the Andean Community said on Thursday that he was surprised by Venezuela's announcement that it was to leave the organization, and vowed to make a concerted effort to ensure the bloc did not dissolve.

Allan Wagner Tizon, Secretary-General of the Andean Community, told a Colombian radio that he would examine Chavez's statement carefully.

He said all efforts would be made to ensure that the Andean Community did not dissolve, adding that the group had made possible many highly valuable agreements for its associate nations.

Wagner said that deputy foreign ministers of the community's five members -- Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia -- met just a few days ago and had agreed to continue strengthening regional integration.

Wagner made the pledge the day after Chavez said that Venezuela planned to withdraw from the Andean Community because the bloc was "pointless".

"The Andean Community is mortally wounded and today I can say it is dead. They have killed it. It no longer exists," Chavez said at a four-nation meeting in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion which was also attended by the presidents of Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Chavez said the deadly blow to the Andean Community was the signing of a free trade agreement between Peru and the United States.

Another Andean member Colombia has reached an agreement with the United States on a free trade deal and plans to complete the signing process as soon as possible. Ecuador was also holding negotiations on a similar accord with Washington.

Carlos Escarra, deputy president of Venezuelan parliamentary commission for foreign policy, said on Thursday that the free trade agreement ran directly against the spirit of the Andean Community.

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said Chavez's statements, which have gained support from Bolivian President Evo Morales, should be treated calmly with careful analysis, while Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo called on Chavez to reconsider the decision.

Trade in the Andean Community reached 8.9 billion U.S. dollars last year, during which Venezuela sold products worth 1.8 billion dollars to other members of the bloc.

Source: Xinhua