Steps should also be taken to improve cooperation in science and technology and reduce barriers to collaboration. We support the June 30 Denver Ministerial that will start building the foundations for the eventual achievement of the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Our governments will remain cognizant of differences in levels of development as we work toward economic integration in the hemisphere. The Committee on Hemispheric Financial Issues should meet as soon as possible to examine all issues identified in the Summit Plan of Action Item on Capital Markets Development and Liberalization, including debt. Productive investment, identified in Miami as a driving force of economic development, and especially private investment, should be encouraged by the development and progressive liberalization and integration of financial markets, in accordance with national legislation.
Terrorism is a serious threat to our political systems and our societies.
We need to design new strategies, with innovative mechanisms and systems of coordination, in order to guarantee close cooperation to ensure that this scourge is eliminated throughout the hemisphere. Despite the intensification of efforts throughout the region in the battle against narcotics trafficking, illegal drugs remain a serious problem. In this regard, and with a view as agreed in Miami to the joint formulation of a counter-narcotics strategy for the 21st Century, we underscore the need to approach with unity and determination the attack on all aspects of this problem, including production, trafficking, and illicit use of drugs, and related crimes including money laundering. Our countries are making strides in combating corruption-through new legislation, enforcement actions, and other innovative strategies to ensure the integrity of the procurement process. Likewise, at the hemispheric level, our countries have agreed in the OAS on a working schedule to consider a draft Inter-American Convention on Corruption culminating in a special conference during the last quarter of 1995.