ANDEAN COUNTRIES SEEK COMMON GROUND ON DRUGS, TRADE

Andean nations are seeking a common approach to free trade and illegal
drugs - issues some leaders in the turbulent region complain are too
often dominated by U.S. policy.

Leaders of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela will meet
this weekend to discuss ways to combat narcotics trafficking in the
world's largest cocaine-producing region.

One goal is to prevent eradication of drug crops in one country from
driving growers into neighboring states, said Victor Rico, who heads
the Community of Andean Nations, a subregional organization.

Some Andean leaders say successful coca eradication efforts in Bolivia
and Peru have increased production in Colombia.

Similar concerns emerged when Colombia launched Plan Colombia, a
U.S.-backed offensive to eradicate coca crops in rebel-held areas.
Venezuela and other nations increased their troop presence along
Colombia's borders - fearing an influx of drug growers and leftist
rebels who protect them.

The United States, which pledged $1.3 billion to the plan, has offered
to help Colombia's neighbors prepare for any spillover from the offensive.

Andean unity remains an elusive goal amid economic turmoil in Bolivia
and Ecuador, guerrilla warfare in Colombia and political upheaval in
Peru and Venezuela.

But Andean leaders say they want to adopt a unified stand when
negotiating counter-narcotics cooperation with other countries,
especially the United States.

"The Andean anti-drug plan will draw from experiences in the last 10
years," said Colombian ambassador to Venezuela, German Bula, noting
that it has taken time to understand all the facets of the illegal
drug trade.

Leaders also increasingly view regional integration as key to getting
their views across during U.S.-led negotiations to create a
hemispheric free trade zone by 2005.

"It's imperative that Andean countries deepen integration. If we
don't, the integration process will become absorbed by the Free Trade
Agreement of the Americas," Rico warned.

During pre-summit meetings this week, business and labor leaders
worried that U.S. and Canadian trade unions will push for stringent
labor standards in the trade agreement that impoverished Andean
countries cannot meet.

Members of the Community of Andean Nations have already eliminated
regional import tariffs, and regional trade should double to $12
billion by 2004, according to the Venezuelan-Colombian Chamber of Commerce.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Hugo Banzer, Colombia's
Andres Pastrana, Ecuador's Gustavo Noboa and Peruvian Foreign Minister
Javier Perez de Cuellar meet in Valencia, Venezuela starting Saturday.