Concluding his tour of the 12 South American Community Nations, UNASUR’s Secretary General Ernesto Samper visited Guyana on Tuesday and addressed the need to tackle counterfeit prescription drugs and reduce the prices of generic drugs across the region.
Samper told members of the media at a press briefing held at the Foreign Affairs Ministry that a meeting will be held in Uruguay next week, to address a way forward in ensuring that the counterfeit drug trade is not allowed to flourish within the bloc countries. He said that simultaneously UNASUR will be devising a strategy that could see generic drug prices regulated and streamlined within the 12 participating member countries.
UNASUR’s secretary general noted that a goal of the regional bloc was to have member states manufacture generic drugs internally which would also help to regulate production and retail costs.
Samper, a former Colombia President, called for more integration within the region noting that the South American citizen had to become a regional identity. He stated that travel and education needed to be cohesive across the region to allow for the South American citizen to work anywhere within the bloc.
He highlighted that a strong focus will be on infrastructure projects
to tie the 12 countries together and that addressing the region’s competitiveness when dealing with
infrastructure, technology and education was on the economic agenda.
UNASUR will focus heavily on seven infrastructure projects including two that will benefit Guyana directly: the Corentyne River Bridge between Guyana and Suriname with the assistance of Chinese financing and another to bring Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname closer.
Foreign Affairs Minister Caroline Rodrigues-Birkett stated that Suriname has already approached the Chinese government about financing the bridge construction. UNASUR will act in a coordinating capacity.
She said UNASUR will have focal points to determine the best way to fund the various projects. She noted that there would be proportions that each individual member state would be responsible for financing and that the bloc would assist with the coordinating efforts.
