Govts. sign bilateral mining agreement

The governments of Peru and Bolivia have signed a bilateral mining cooperation agreement to encourage joint investment projects and the exchange of information, according to Lima daily Gestion. The agreement was reached within the framework of the second ministerial summit held in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the east of Bolivia. It was also decided to hold another meeting of mining authorities and entrepreneurs in September in the Peruvian city of Arequipa, where the experiences of both countries will be evaluated, the report said. "We have invited [Bolivian] President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada to attend the meeting to be held September 14 and 15 in Arequipa, two days before the Peruvian mining engineers convention," Peru's mines and energy minister Jaime Quijandria said. The minister also indicated that both countries pledged to cooperate on harmonizing their mineral property inventories. The initiative coincides with an agreement being negotiated between the governments of Argentina and Bolivia. Last week the two countries' foreign ministries ratified a policy document drawn up by their respective mining authorities as a reference for the drawing up a mining integration treaty to regulate the development of the industry along their common border.