PANAMA PRESIDENT BALLADARES VISITS NICARAGUA

MANAGUA, - Panamanian President Ernesto Perez
Balladares and Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman signed a
declaration on Tuesday to promote trade and democracy in Central
America and fight drug trafficking.

The declaration, signed at a ceremony in Managua, called for a free
trade agreement among Panama, Nicaragua and other Central American
nations to help develop the commercial interests of the region.

It also expressed Nicaragua's support for the democratic process in
Panama, which holds a presidential election on May 2. It also
supported Panamanian authorities as they prepare to take control of
the Panama Canal from the United States on Dec. 31.

Both leaders pledged to seek ways to coordinate their fight against a
"plague" of drug trafficking and money laundering in the region, which
has become a transfer point on the cocaine route between Colombia and
the United States.

Aleman thanked Balladares for sending planes and helicopters to help
relief work in Nicaragua after Hurricane Mitch last October. The storm
killed 9,000 people, left 2 million homeless and caused billions of
dollars in damage throughout Central America.

Balladares will be honoured by the National Assembly and meet with
opposition Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega before leaving Nicaragua on
Wednesday morning.