The presidents of five Central American nations met here Wednesday to seek a common position for the next round of negotiations with the European Union (EU).
The meeting is being held at Costa Rica's presidential palace, and attended by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and his counterparts Alvaro Colom of Guatemala, Manuel Zelaya of Honduras, Elias Antonio Saca of El Salvador and Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua.
The EU and the five Central American countries have been negotiating a treaty on political cooperation and a free trade arrangement.
The previous, or second, round of negotiations was carried out from Feb. 25-29 in Brussels, while the next round is slated for April in El Salvador. The two sides are scheduled to conclude the talks in 2009.
The presidents would discuss everything concerning the treaty at Wednesday's meeting to seek a common position for the upcoming negotiations with the EU, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno told reporters.
One of the key issues dividing the five Central American countries is their stances toward the International Criminal Court(ICC) accord, which the EU has demanded they approve.
El Salvador and Nicaragua have signed the ICC accord, but the other nations say they have legislative problems in ratifying it.
Source:Xinhua
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