Gutiérrez is abroad to take part in the 13th Peruvian-Ecuadorean Neighborhood Commission Meeting, aimed at shortlisting issues that need to be addressed at the Presidential Meeting and Eighth Binational Cabinet that rulers of those nations will chair in Ecuador’s coastal province of El Oro by late October.

According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, the aforementioned meeting will bring together leaders and ministers of the two South American countries as part of the integration process and bilateral cooperation in support of the 1998 Brasilia Peace Accords. 

During the meeting, delegates from the Binational Development Plan for the Border Region will report on the progress of programs being carried out under the comprehensive agreement signed in 1998.

This historic peace agreement was signed by Presidents Alberto Fujimori of Peru and Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador on Oct. 26, 1998, putting an end to a long-standing border dispute in a sparsely populated frontier area.

It should be noted that the Binational Development Plan for the Border Region is a long-term undertaking with clearly defined objectives and projects designed to reduce poverty, protect the environment and support integration. It already has its own momentum and shall not be affected by temporary political events.

On the other hand, the Peruvian-Ecuadorian Neighborhood Commission was created by the Brasilia Agreements and is the axis of the integration process. It is the instance of the political level and representative character in charge of promoting, supporting, and coordinating the cooperation between the two countries.