NEWS ARCHIVE – June 2013

REGION-BUILDING THE AFRICAN UNION:
Obama, Zuma at one on Africa growth
SouthAfrica.info, June 30, 2013 – [Obama] also commended South Africa for being at the forefront of matters relating to regional security and integration through the African Union (AU)…. “We would like to cooperate with the US in enhancing peace-building and post-conflict reconstruction and development, under the umbrella of the United Nations and the African Union,” Zuma said….

Mexico’s Growing Cost Advantage Over China, Other Economies Will Boost Its Exports — and U.S. Manufacturers
Wall Street Journa,l June 28, 2013 – Within five years, higher manufacturing exports due to a widening cost advantage over China and other major economies could add $20 billion to $60 billion in output to Mexico’s economy annually. And thanks to the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), U.S. manufacturers of components for everything from automobiles to computers assembled in Mexico also stand to benefit, according to new research by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

UNASUR:
Correa urges Unasur to prioritize the creation of Regional Centre for Arbitration
Prensa Libre (Guatemala), June 29, 2013 (Google Translate) – Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, today urged the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) to prioritize the creation of a Regional Centre for Arbitration, to prevent their States are subject to international tribunals, according to him, subject to the interests of big business.
Latin America launches the South Bank to stand up to IMF – Público (Spain), June 29, 2013 – Latin America continues to fuel its regional integration process while building an alternative to the neoliberal economic system prevailing in the countries of the North. The South Bank, which held its first Council of Ministers on June 12 in Caracas, is the last step of such an undertaking. “The South Bank is a logical result in a continent that wants to break the dependence on the International Monetary Fund (IMF)…”

SAARC:
Nepal’s business tycoon urges South Asian peers to put spotlight on economics
Financial Express Bangladesh, June 30, 2013 – “Despite the presence of decades-old SAARC and 19 years of engagement of SAARC chamber, the region has not been able to really evolve let alone as common market or introducing common currency, not even as free trade regime.”

AFRICAN UNION:
UN peacekeepers take over from African troops in Mali
New Straits Times, June 29, 2013 – United Nations soldiers will take over from African troops in conflict-scarred Mali from Monday, making up the organisation’s third-largest peacekeeping force by the end of the year….Rwandan General Jean-Bosco Kazura, formerly second in command of African Union troops in Sudan’s western Darfur region, will lead the force.
Southern Africa: SADC Ministers Commit to Implementing Global Population Agenda – AllAfrica, June 28, 2013 – SADC [Southern African Development Community] ministers responsible for population and development planning have re-affirmed their commitment to the implementation of the global plan of action for population and development programme….Specifically, actions to be taken by various countries included training and retaining of skilled health personnel especially doctors and midwives; increase universal access to quality, affordable, comprehensive and integrated maternal health, sexual and reproductive health and rights services, including voluntary family planning.

ASEAN:
Slowly, Asean Heads Toward More Political Integration – Voice of America, June 29, 2013 – “As 2015 approaches, I think we will see incremental progress on the basis of consensus,” he said. “If there is anybody out there that is not comfortable, they won’t proceed.” By the end of 2015, Asean aims to achieve a much higher degree of political, security, and cultural integration between its 10 members.

SAARC:
Nepal: Through Himalayan Looking Glass, 21st Century World Order
TelegraphNepal, June 28, 2013 – Where India does not respond geo-politically to Chinese gestures then China will bank on its strategic relations with Pakistan to contain India and, together with each other, will develop much closer economic and security ties with the rest of South Asia….The only way for India to counter this force is to settle the Kashmir problem, first and foremost, to the satisfaction of Pakistan and then move the SAARC agenda forward towards an Economic Union of South Asia….This may involve free movement of peoples across borders, without visas, to all countries for employment and social reunion and interface that will set the foundations for an eventual Confederation of South Asian Nations (CSAN).

EURASIAN UNION:
Belarus And The Eurasian Union: Incremental Integration – Analysis
Eurasia Review, June 28, 2013 – Russia has given potential members little time to integrate, decision-making remains opaque, and a full-fledged Eurasian Union is likely to be delayed by Belarus and Kazakhstan….Moscow is paying Minsk for membership, while expecting the new supranational regulatory framework to foster a process of economic integration similar to Western Europe’s.
The New Russian Sphere of Influence: Does Russia’s Eurasian Union Threaten U.S. Interests? – Heritage Foundation, June 27, 2013 – Currently composed of only these three nations, the Eurasian Union is likely to include Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Ukraine.
Armenian Stance On Russian-Led Union Still Ambiguous – Armenia Liberty, June 28, 2013 – Armenia remains on course to finalize its accord with the EU. Asked whether the signing of that deal is now at risk because of what many in Armenia see as Russian pressure, Kocharian said, “Negotiations are continuing in both directions, with Russia and the West.”
Armenia says EU Free Trade Area, Customs Union not a dilemma yet – Armenia Now, June 28, 2013

EUROPEAN UNION, GCC:
EU, GCC states keen on cementing ties — diplomat
Kuwait News Agency, June 28, 2013 – The GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] is bound to the EU by a Cooperation Agreement dating back to 1988. The diplomat said the EU will not raise the issue of a free trade agreement (FTA) at the meeting as negotiations are on hold due to differences over a clause regarding the imposition of GCC exports duty.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Keeping up with the Croats
After Croatia’s accession, Europe should be ready to admit more new members
The Economist, June 28, 2013 – Critics who say the European Union has been tipped into inaction by the euro crisis are mistaken. Despite it, policymaking in such areas as competition, energy, the single market and telecoms carries on. And on July 1st the club will admit its 28th member, Croatia.

AFRICAN UNION – SADC:
SADC woos investors for its infrastructure programme
Manica Post, June 28, 2013 – Southern Africa will take its multi-billion-dollar infrastructure development plan to potential funders when the region hosts an investment conference this week in Mozambique….expected to bring together SADC heads of state and government, ministers responsible for Infrastructure, international cooperating partners, prospective investors including multilateral financial institutions such as the African Development Bank and World Bank, as well as representatives of the African Union.

NORTH AMERICA:
Canada confident Keystone XL will be approved
Faribault County Register | Associated Press, June 26, 2013 – Canada’s natural resources minister said Tuesday he’s confident the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline project from Canada to Texas will be approved because it meets President Barack Obama’s requirement that it not lead to a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

UNASUR:
Chinese president meets with Sierra Leonean president
People’s Daily, June 27, 2013 – Suriname will take up the rotating presidency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in the second half of the year. Xi said he hopes Suriname will continue to exert a positive influence in promoting relations between China and Caribbean countries, as well as China and Latin America.
Colombia Signs Cooperation Memorandum with NATO – Venezuelanalysis, June 26, 2013 – Venezuelan ambassador to the OAS, Roy Chaderton said on Sunday that the relationship between Colombia and NATO is “irrational”, especially if “the advances in the region in terms of the integration of Unasur are taken into account”.

SAARC & REGIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE:
New Silk Route and Bangladesh
The Daily Star (Bangladesh), June 26, 2013 – lAmerica’s interests are not the same as those of the involved countries, and there is a need for a dialogue among Saarc countries to shape a coherent regional strategy of connectivity.
Saarc chamber calls for granting MFN status to India – The Nation (Pakistan), June 26, 2013 – The leadership of SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SAARC CCI) from India and Pakistan Chapters have urged upon the newly elected Government in Pakistan to announce MFN status as a priority matter while regarding it as one of the strongest confidence building measures between two big economies of South Asia.

EUROPEAN UNION:
European Union Delays Talks on Turkey Joining
NASDAQ, June 25, 2013 – The European Union agreed to advance accession talks with Turkey, although it postponed negotiations on Ankara’s bid to join the 27-nation bloc until fall, the Irish presidency of the EU said on Tuesday.

AFRICAN UNION – ECOWAS
AfDB partners ECOWAS to develop common migration policy
SpyGhana, June 25, 2013 – The common migration policy, when developed, will provide critical materials for the review and modernization of the ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] Protocol on the Free Movement of Persons and the Rights of Residency and Establishment, a press release issued on June 25, 2013, has said.

SOUTH PACIFIC:
Australia: Progress toward the Australia New Zealand “Single Economic Market” & what it means for intellectual property law.
Mondaq News Alerts, June 25, 2013 – We have reported previously on the impending Single Economic Market (“SEM”) reforms, as agreed between the Australian and New Zealand Governments in August 2009. The wider reforms encompass not only IP, but also competition policy, consumer protection, accounting standards, securities offerings, cross-border insolvency and company registrations. The framework thereby aims to accelerate and deepen trans-Tasman regulatory integration and to provide a “seamless” trans-Tasman business environment. In this article, we report on progress toward the SEM reforms – as it pertains to IP.

EURASIAN UNION:
Belarusian Entrepreneurs To Protest Eurasian Customs Union
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, June 25, 2013 – Eurasian Customs Union’s regulations were adopted without their involvement and go against their interests.
Russia’s Eurasian Union Could Endanger The Neighborhood And US Interests – ValdaiClub, June 25, 2013 – A Eurasian Union that evolves into a Russian sphere of influence would adopt a mercantilist approach to the global economy. It will likely monopolize regional security, could threaten regional stability, and undermine economic and political freedom in Central Asia and beyond.
[All of this being true, the writer goes on to errantly describe the Eurasian Union as being unlike the EU. Although there may be several functional differences, the Eurasian result as described above is similar, not only for the European Union, but for all the major geopolitical, regional unions in the world, as shown in the video below. They will be played off against each other to further galvanize central control within each region. This “crisis” will then be the pretext for the next globalist “solution,” a new world order of federated regions.]

AFRICAN UNION:
The US ignores Africa at its own peril
Boston Globe, June 25, 2013 – Topping the list of alternative partners for Africa is China, whose meteoric rise on the continent since the mid-2000s has been highlighted by such grandiose gestures as the financing of the new African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
[This argument is specious, since it was Western monopolist investment and Western industrial corporations that financed China’s rise, as well as its manufactured “interdependence” with Western consumers. In reality, this is an example of the mercantilist tone that will play one region against another. Western monopolists will respond with further calls for a “North American Union.”]
Uhuru Kenyatta calls for common East African Community Tourist Visa – Standard Digital News, (Kenya), June 25, 2013 – Expressing his commitment to the ideals of EAC, President Uhuru noted that his Government is focused in achieving the integration agenda which he noted marks the beginning of Africa renaissance. He said integration agenda can only be achieved by getting rid of all non-tariff barriers to trade that may be hindering the movement of goods as well as workers across the different countries.

SAARC:
LoC has to be Line of Cooperation: Mufti
Kashmir Times, June 23, 2013 – Pleading for giving a push to cross Line of Control (LoC) relations through trade and travel,….Mufti said the PDP’s vision had potential to address external and internal dimensions of the Kashmir problem. “In our document, we have suggested making Jammu and Kashmir a free economic zone,” he said adding there was a proposal in SAARC to make South Asia a free economic zone on the pattern of European Union.

AFRICAN UNION – EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY:
EALA passes crucial bills to harmonise EAC movement
IPPMedia (Tanzania), June 24, 2013 – “We are looking forward to a uniform Vehicle load control in EAC instead of each country having its own standard,”….The bill also seeks to extend the application of Partner States national laws relating to border control by enabling officers of the adjoining Partner State to perform statutory functions outside their national territory.

ASEAN;
US envoy’s stand seen to boost PH position
ABS CBN News (Philippines), June 23, 2013 – Valte also said the call of Russel for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to negotiate with China on the issue as a bloc is consistent with the Philippine position. China wants to discuss its maritime disputes with its neighbors on a bilateral basis.

GCC:
Saudi changes working week to Sunday-Thursday – official statement
Reuters, June 23, 2013 – Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it was switching its official weekend to Friday and Saturday, bringing the kingdom’s working week in line with other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

EUROPEAN UNION:
The Rumors of the EU’s Demise Are Exaggerated
U.S. News & World Report, June 21, 2013 – Forget about the reports claiming that the European Union is dying….Yes, the democratic deficit between European citizens and Brussels is widening. No, the European Union is not on its deathbed, but is fact in a period of transformation. In any case, the attraction of the EU remains powerful through European enlargement policy.

UNASUR:
Bolivia guarantees resources to build Parliament of UNASUR
TeleSurTV, June 20, 2013 (Google Translate) – As part of the Unasur Constitutive Treaty, signed in 2008 by the 12 member countries of this organization, the official seat of the Parliament will be built in Bolivia. While the General Secretariat will work in Ecuador.

ASEAN:
ASEAN officials deal with trans-national crimes
People’s Daily | Xinhua (China), June 20, 2013 – Further cooperation between ASEAN member nations and with dialogue partners are necessary in combating trans-national crimes involving drug and human trafficking, terrorism and high technologies….ASEAN’s consultations and meetings with dialogue partners…will take place in a bid to work out information sharing mechanisms…

GCC:
Share intelligence to strengthen GCC, says UAE paper
WAM – Emirates News Agency, June 20, 2013 – “GCC countries have to be able to be integrated to share intelligence and information and be ready to work together at a higher and more complete level.”

EUROPEAN UNION:
‘No Religion, Please. We’re European.’
Action Institute, June 18, 2013 – And it’s not just that less people believe; it’s that there is growing hostility to religion in the EU. Take for example Slovakia. The National Bank of Slovakia has ordered the removal of religious symbolism for a coin minted specifically for that nation’s celebration of the arrival of Christianity in that nation.

 

EURASIAN UNION:
Trading Off Sovereignty: The Outcome of Belarus’s Integration with Russia in the Security and Defence Field
ISN (Switzerland), June 17, 2013 – Within the Union State of Belarus and Russia, the armed forces are integrated to an extent unequalled in the world….Given the interconnectedness between geopolitics and economics in Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy, integration in the security and defence field is likely to result in Belarus being irreversibly subjugated to Russia in a structural sense.

GCC:
GCC, OIC Welcome Hassan Rowhani’s Election As Iranian President
RTT News, June 17, 2013 – Leaders of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have congratulated Hassan Rowhani on his election as Iranian President and expressed hope for better bilateral ties.

AFRICAN UNION:
EAC: How Media Can Hasten Regional Integration
AllAfrica | Tanzania Daily News, June 16, 2013 – It is no longer enough for the media to simply play a secondary role of occasionally reporting about major events by organs of the East African Community (EAC) and related agencies….The wide network of media in the region is sufficient to make a huge difference in perceptions and attitudes of our people, making the citizens themselves to agitate for even faster integration.
Zimbabwe: SADC Leaders Humiliate Mugabe – AllAfrica | The Standard, June 16, 2013 – President T Robert Mugabe was yesterday ordered by an extraordinary Sadc summit to return to the Constitutional Court and seek an extension of two weeks to the date that he set aside for elections.

UNASUR:
Venezuela and Maduro Today: The Heart of Darkness
Venezuelanalysis, June 16, 2013 – Modesto Guerrero: ….Colombia can’t belong to the defence council of UNASUR at the same time that it is in NATO, which is another defence council. The one in UNASUR is politically and militarily autonomous, and diametrically opposed to NATO. According to political logic, there should be pressure from Brazil and Argentina towards Colombia, along with valiant responses from Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia.

ASEAN:
US Senate Files Resolution On Asia-Pacific Territorial Row; Philippines Welcomes Move Amid Dispute With China
International Business Times, June16, 2013-“The Philippines especially appreciates the reaffirmation of the peaceful resolution of disputes, including through arbitration; its condemnation of the use of threat or use of force; its recognition of the significance of the role of ASEAN and of the code of conduct”….Among the several alarming incidents cited by the resolution were China’s aggressive operations in the East China Sea and the West Philippine Sea.

ARAB LEAGUE
Iran to send 4,000 troops to aid President Assad forces in Syria
The Independent (London), June 16, 2013 – For the first time, all of America’s ‘friends’ in the region are Sunni Muslims and all of its enemies are Shiites. Breaking all President Barack Obama’s rules of disengagement, the US is now fully engaged on the side of armed groups which include the most extreme Sunni Islamist movements in the Middle East.

SAARC:
Power play: Pakistan willing to import electricity, says India
The Express Tribune (Pakistan), June 15, 2013 – If the Pakistani government has the political will to make a decision, electricity from India could start flowing into Pakistan in a matter of months, say top sources in India’s energy ministry. Confirming that Pakistan has shown willingness to buy power from India, sources say that setting up the cross-border transmission line is a simple task, provided the two countries decide to facilitate the project.

EURASIAN UNION, EUROPEAN UNION:
Ukraine cannot get observer status at Eurasian Union due to Association with EU, Russian presidential advisor says
NRCU Ukrainian Radio, June 14, 2013 – “If Ukraine signs an Association Agreement with the EU, that means we’ll be able to be together in the Eurasian Economic Union and Customs Union only in the case that Russia signs the exact same agreement with the EU. But that agreement is currently unacceptable for Russia

AFRICAN UNION, EUROPEAN UNION:
Africa urged to negotiate with European Union as a united bloc
Coastweek Kenya, June 15, 2013 – The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has urged Africa to negotiate trade agreements with the European Union (EU) as a single bloc….EU Ambassador to the African Union Gary Quince said that East, Southern Africa and West Africa are still in the process of negotiating trade partnership with the EU.

NORTH AMERICA:
Canada’s surveillance program copies U.S. model
The Canadian, June 13, 2013 – Now, Canadians may be questioning just how much internet security and privacy they really have in light of the new trans-national “Security Perimeter”.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Outrage as new European Union immigration guide helps migrants claim British benefits
Daily Express (London), June 12, 2013 – “This booklet is a disgrace. We are facing cuts and yet the EU gives EU migrants a handbook on how to settle in the UK and claim from the welfare state….The only way to regain control of our national borders and control immigration is to leave the EU as soon as we can.”

ASEAN:
Strong ASEAN-Japan ties important to global stability
Jakarta Post, June 12, 2013 – “From Japan’s point of view, ASEAN’s solidarity has been increasingly important. Previously, Japan was an outsider to Southeast Asia but today we are an insider. Japan is economically part of [the region] although politically not quite yet.”

EUROPEAN UNION, EURASIAN UNION:
Armenia Looks West, Tries To Loosen Moscow’s Grip
ISN | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, June 12, 2013 – Moscow is pressuring Yerevan — and other former Soviet states, especially Ukraine and Moldova — to join its Eurasian Customs Union (ECU). So far, only Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are members of the bloc, which Moscow hopes to expand and transform into an even more ambitious Eurasian Union. The European Union has made it clear that membership in the Eurasian Customs Union is incompatible with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and with an EU Association Agreement.

SAARC:
Pakistan, India working to remove trade barriers
The Nation (Pakistan), June 12, 2013 – High Commissioner of India to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal….voiced that Indo-Pak dialogues and subsequent developments are not only beneficial for two countries but would also integrate SAARC bloc. He registered his gratitude to business communities of two countries who cooperated and pushed the two governments to move forward.

ASEAN:
ASEAN people unaware of 2015 economic integration
ABS CBN News (Philippines), June 11, 2013 – Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are struggling to get ready for full economic integration by 2015, and most of their 600 million people are unaware of the changes that will take place.

GCC:
Saudis plan US$45b rail networks
Business Times (Malaysia), June 11, 2013 – The planned development is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)’s railway project that will link all Gulf countries and lines with the national transportation of those countries.

PIF:
Pacific NGOs on the way forward for Pacific Plan Review
Radio Australia, June 11, 2013 – One of the big issues for Pacific Island leaders at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum will be how to revive the Pacific Plan – the roadmap for greater regional co-operation and integration.

AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
EAC states inch closer to setting up monetary union
Daily Nation (Kenya), June 10, 2013 – The East African Community is on the verge of embracing the Monetary Union. According to a statement from the bloc, the summit has earmarked November 30 as the day for entry into the third level of integration. “This shall be a unique opportunity for the EAC to usher in the common currency and harmonisation of the macro-economic policies of the partner states,” said the Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, Ms Margaret Nantongo Zziwa.

UNASUR:
UNASUR countries expected to create a Southern Monetary Fund
Noticia al Dia (Venezuela), June 9, 2013 (Google Translate – Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) have planned the establishment of a South Monetary Fund reserves to allow members emergencies, reported Sunday Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño. “It can be used to bail out a small or large country and not have to submit to the dictates and IMF conditionalities,” said the diplomat….

GCC:
GCC-US Economic Engagement
SUSRIS (Saudii-US Relations Information Service), June 10, 2013 – Last year the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council entered what was described by GCC Assistant Secretary General Abdel Aziz Aluwaisheg as a new frontier with the launch of the Strategic Cooperation Forum….“With the new approach by the U.S. Administration to enter into more organic and closer cooperation with the GCC as a group, as a regional group, the Obama Administration in effect reversed the previous administration’s preference for dealing with the GCC bilaterally, with each member state separately.”

EUROPEAN UNION:
UKIP is ‘proud’ of never turning up in European Parliament
Public Service Europe, June 10, 2013 – Representatives of UKIP prefer to focus on YouTube, grassroots campaigning and media appearances rather than waste time in Brussels – says party

EUROPEAN UNION:
Verhofstadt, Cohn-Bendit get European Leader award
EurActiv, June 7, 2013 – Guy Verhofstadt and Daniel Cohn-Bendit won the European Leader Award on Thursday (6 June), after several weeks of online voting organised ahead of the State of the European Union forum….They think the European Commission should be transformed as soon as possible into a European government, controlled by a European Parliament with enhanced powers.
FROM THE ARCHIVES:
‘The New World Order Since 11 September’
October 17, 2001: Speech by then-Belgium Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt in Warsaw: “We could order the world on the basis of existing regional cooperation organizations: the European Union, ASEAN, Mercosur [now UNASUR], NAFTA, the African Union, the Arab League and SAARC in southern Asia….“We need to take a first step down the path towards a global form of federalism, a structure where the reality of an increasingly interactive world is finally made a political reality too. In fact, a structure of this kind was already planned when the United Nations was created in 1945, but was never implemented after the Cold War.“The New World Order could lead to a new G8, G9 or G10, with regular meetings between the delegates of the world’s continents….The European Union is the model.…”

EUROPEAN UNION, EURASIAN UNION:
EU-Ukraine relations ‘running out of runway’: Official
EurActiv, June 6, 2013 – The EU and its member countries were watching Ukraine’s rapprochement with Russia very closely, notably developments on the Eurasian Union and the Customs Union proposed by Moscow. They were now assessing whether this process hinders its European ambitions.

EUROPEAN UNION:
Bilderberg’s 60-Year Trajectory Exposed
Infowars.com, June 5, 2013 – Studying the few reports that have managed to slip past the censors in the course of the previous decades, we can see that both the European Union and the European single currency have been nurtured and guided by the far-reaching hands of Bilderberg. For example, in the leaked transcript from the 1955 Bilderberg meeting (chaired by prince Bernhard of the Netherlands) participants speak of the “pressing need to bring the German people, together with the other peoples of Europe, into a common market”, and the desire is expressed to “arrive in the shortest possible time at the highest degree of integration, beginning with a common European market.”

UNASUR:
Colombia seeks to be NATO “partner”: Defense chief
People’s Daily (China), June 5, 2013 – Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said on Tuesday that his country wants to become a ” partner” of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), not a full member as reported earlier. Pinzon’s clarification was made after several of its South American neighbors questioned Bogota’s decision to seek NATO entry.
State Department: We must find ways for dialogue in Venezuela – El Universal (Venezuela), June 4, 2013 – Jacobson said that “it is unclear to me at this point what would be the best forum, but I think we need to look at that….Certainly, this is a conversation that we should have and the conversation should continue within Unasur (Union of South American Nations),” she added.

EURASIAN UNION:
Ukraine has signed memorandum with Eurasian Economic Commission
EuroBelarus, June 5, 2013 – The memorandum presupposes deepening of cooperation with the Eurasian Economic Commission, a regulatory body of the Eurasian Customs Union.

AFRICAN UNION:
Too early to judge AU crisis capacity response – analysts
DefenceWeb (South Africa), June 5, 2013 – Analysts have welcomed an African Union (AU) resolution to create a rapid response force that will help Africa militarily respond swiftly to emergency situations. At the same time they caution it is too early to make meaningful judgments on the new force.

ASEAN:
Phl, ASEAN countries agree to work on common visa
Philippine Star, jUNE 5, 2013 – “Considering that tourism is a priority sector under the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Economic Community and that it constitutes a significant contribution to the integration of ASEAN countries, it is important to be ‘smart’ about visa facilitation for travel,” Mari Elka Pangestu, minister of tourism and creative economy of Indonesia said.

UNASUR:
Bolivia Calls UNASUR Summit To Discuss Colombia’s Decision To Join NATO
BERNAMA (Malaysia) | Prensa Latina, June 4, 2013 – The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales has described Colombia’s decision to join NATO as a threat to the region and called an extraordinary meeting of the Security Council of UNASUR, a Latin regional grouping.
U.S. might support Colombia NATO bid: State Department official – Raw Story | Agence France-Presse, June 4, 2013 – The United States might support a bid by Colombia for NATO membership just as it has backed the close Latin American ally in other international fora, a senior State Department official said Monday.

NORTH AMERICA:
Canada, U.S. Announce First Joint Border Infrastructure Plan
iipdigital.usembassy.gov, June 3, 2013 – The BIIP, along with other initiatives under Beyond the Border: A Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness, is designed to benefit the integrated economies of the United States and Canada, which depend on the fluid movement of commercial and noncommercial traffic across the border, Homeland Security said.

AFRICAN UNION – EAC:
Museveni set to address East African MPs tomorrow
Daily Monitor (Uganda), June 4, 2013 – The legislative body of the East African Community started meeting in Kampala last week and is expected to close business on June 9….Currently, the negotiations for the East African Monetary Union and fast tracking the process towards East African Federation are top on the agenda.

EURASIAN UNION:
Integration discussed in Astana this week
TVR (Belarus), June 2, 2013 – One of the main news was granting of observer status to Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan. It was decided that the Eurasian Economic Community will be replaced by the Eurasian Economic Union in January 2015.

UNASUR:
Lula would be wonderful as Secretary General of Unasur, says Correa
El Nacional (Dominican Republic), June 1, 2013 (Google Translate) – The president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, said Saturday it would be “wonderful” that former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (2003-2010) became general secretary of the Union of South American (UNASUR)….UNASUR is composed of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

AFRICAN UNION:
African Union Prepares Its Shock Troops – Analysis
Eurasian Review, June 2, 2013 – A newly sanctioned African Union (AU) force for quick deployment in conflicts such as in Mali is being promoted as a stop-gap measure ahead of the planned formation of the “rapid deployment capability” (RDC) African Standby Force (ASF). Unlike the ASF, which will also have policing and civilian duties, the African Immediate Crisis Response Capacity (AICRC) force will have “a strictly military capacity with high reactivity to respond swiftly to emergency situations upon political decisions to intervene in conflict situations within the continent,”….

GCC:
Saudi And Egypt Sign $1.6bn Deal To Link Power Grids
Gulf Business | Reuters, June 2, 2013 – Saudi Transport, Water and Electricity Minister Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman al-Husayen said the project, when completed, will effectively lead to linking the power grids of 14 Arab countries, including the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council.

ARAB LEAGUE:
Peri: Adopt Arab peace initiative with corrections
Jerusalem Post, June 1, 2013 – Former head of the Shin Bet and current Minister of Science and Technology Yaakov Peri said on Saturday that he is in favor of adopting the Arab League Peace Initiative, but with Israeli corrections….Regarding Israeli construction in east Jerusalem and the West Bank, Peri said he is against funding new settlements, but is in favor of “not suffocating” existing settlements.

ASEAN:
US invites ASEAN defence chiefs to Hawaii
The Australian, June 1, 2013 – The United States has offered to host a meeting with Southeast Asian defence ministers in Hawaii next year, stepping up its efforts to counter growing Chinese influence in the region.
[China is ASEAN’s designated antagonist to spur an accelerated geopolitical integration of the region.]

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