On August 19, 2015, the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, hosted the la XXVII Meeting of COSIPLAN-IIRSA National Coordinators, which was attended by delegations from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as by representatives of the UNASUR General Secretariat and IIRSA Technical Coordination Committee.

During the meeting, a presentation was made of the results of the work underway in the thematic areas within the framework of COSIPLAN-IIRSA:

I.    COSIPLAN Projects

• The main results of the update process through the virtual meetings of the Executive Technical Groups for the Update of the Portfolio and API Projects by Integration and Development Hub, held during May and June, were presented.
• Completed Projects: The countries recognized the importance of disseminating information on the projects already completed or at an advanced stage, within the framework of connectivity between two or more countries, as prioritized by COSIPLAN. For this reason, the countries agreed to shoot two documentary videos: an institutional video and another one concerning connectivity between Ecuador and Peru. On this border, important progress in road connection has been made thanks to fruitful agreements between the authorities of both countries. 

II. Territorial Planning Methodologies

• Application of the Disaster Risk Management Methodology to the projects of Group 5 of the Central Inbteroceanic Hub: The results of the  pilot application will be presented at the next meeting of the Executive Technical Group scheduled for the first quarter of 2016.  Country coordinating the activity: the Republic of Chile.

• Design of a Territorial Integration Program: Agua Negra Binational Tunnel: The Territorial Integration Program (PTI), together with its Implementation Plan, is in its final development stage, and both will be presented at the Binational Workshop to be held on October 1 and 2 in San Juan, Argentina. Argentina and Chile started working on this in August 2014 with the support of the Technical Coordination Committee (CCT). Countries coordinating the activity: Republic of Argentina and Republic of Chile.

III. Integration Sectoral Processes

• Course on Freight Transport and Logistics: The advances on the guided virtual course entitled “Training Program in the Design and Management of Freight Transport and Logistics Policies,” which is taking place within schedule, were presented. The course is conducted within the framework of the COSIPLAN-IIRSA work programmed for 2015. Country coordinating the activity: The Republic of Peru.

• Workshop on South American Integration through Ports and Waterways: The preliminary agenda of the first Workshop to be held on October 14 and 15 in Brasilia, Brazil, was presented. Country coordinating the activity: Federal Republic of Brazil.

• Trade Integration through Postal Services for MSMEs: The progress attained and the activities underway concerning imports and exports was presented. This was carried out within the work plan under the coordination of Brazil and Peru, with the support of a Technical Cooperation from the Inter-American Development Bank. Furthermore, the meeting of the Executive Technical Group scheduled for September 28 and 29 in Lima, Peru, was confirmed. Countries coordinating the activity: Federal Republic of Brazil and Republic of Peru.

• Border Integration and Facilitation: A proposal was presented that consists in designing a work methodology taking into account the tools developed by COSIPLAN to identify the “bilateral border regions”. With the support of the Technical Coordination Committee (CCT), Argentina and Chile will draft a document describing the conceptual framework of the methodology and instruments enabling the implementation of border integration as a course of action in the COSIPLAN planning process. Countries coordinating the activity: Republic of Argentina and Republic of Chile.

• Air Integration: In November 2015, a virtual meeting will be organized to present the results of the studies conducted by the IDB on this issue: “Case Studies on Air Cargo Terminals in the Airports of the UNASUR Member Countries” and “Study on Air Integration in the Guianese Shield Hub.” Country coordinating the activity: Federal Republic of Brazil.