TAKING the Plunge: These girl swimmers ages 13-14 are a few of the thousands of young Costa Rican athletes who have competed this week in the National Sporting Games being held around San José. Baseball, chess, cycling and volleyball are among sports competitions wrapping up this weekend, and the games will conclude Sunday with an international marathon leaving from La Sabana park, on the western edge of San José. For a complete schedule, visit the Web site of the Costa Rican Sports Institute (ICODER) at www.icoder.go.cr.

A German development bank recently approved a $15 million loan to the Nicaraguan Bank of Finances (BDF) to finance the construction of housing and small business development, according to a statement released yesterday by BDF.

By Fabián Borges
editorial@ticotimes.net

Washington D.C. -- Costa Rica and the United States should negotiate a “new generation” free-trade agreement in “three or four years,” said Ottón Solís, leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC), yesterday in Washington D.C. during an event organized by the Center for Global Development, a think-tank based in that city.

Solís, also a runner-up in last year's presidential elections, said it is no longer possible to renegotiate the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), as he had vowed to do if elected President. Therefore, the best option for Costa Rica is to reject it and negotiate a better agreement in the coming years, he said.

“We want a free-trade agreement with the United States, but of a different shape [than the one that was negotiated],” Solís said. “We hope that in three or four years it can take shape.”

Solís proposes an agreement that would spell out trade and investment rules and include stricter labor and environmental standards than CAFTA. Rules on preventing corruption and money laundering, ensuring the development of participatory democracy and the protection of the rights of women and minorities would also be included in the agreement.

Such an agreement would represent a “new partnership with the United States,” Solís said. However, it could only be negotiated at least three or four years down the road. “I know it's not possible [now] given what is happening in this county,” Solís said, likely referring to the new balance of power in the U.S. legislature.

The former candidate argued CAFTA would limit Costa Rica's development options and that, given the country's high levels of human development, it should have a different trade agreement with the United States than the one its poorer neighbors have signed.

CAFTA is being debated in the Legislative Assembly and could soon be sent to its main floor. Costa Rica is the only signatory country that has not ratified the controversial trade pact.

The National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR) yesterday gave a nod of approval to the National Development Plan announced Wednesday night by Second Vice-President Kevin Casas.  

The Development Plan provides “a map to outline the development the country needs right now” and addresses areas that affect the success of the tourism sector, such as infrastructure, according to a statement from the chamber.

The plan calls for the country to “recuperate and amplify the country's transport infrastructure,” and sets specific goals like having 30% of the country's roadways in “good condition” by 2010. It also calls for expansion of airports and improvements at ports.

“We're very satisfied with the way the Development Plan is defined, specifically the points related to tourism,” CANATUR president Gonzalo Vargas said in the statement.

The Development Plan was presented Wednesday night at the National Theater in San José. It is divided into five focus areas: social policy, production,   the environment, telecommunications and energy, and institutional and foreign policy reform.

The document, which all presidential administrations must prepare once in office to establish their goals, outlines the steps President Oscar Arias and his administration expect to take to achieve campaign promises such as a reduction in poverty levels from 20% to 16%, improved health coverage and security and better infrastructure.

Among the key initiatives included in the 133-page plan are the expansion of grants and school-lunch funding to reduce inequality in schools; a curricular reform to emphasize the teaching of art, music and citizenship; broadening vaccine coverage; giving San José a sewer system and addressing the country's trash problem (“For the love of God,” Casas said, “how is that (we)…aren't capable of taking out the garbage?”); meeting 100% of the country's electricity needs with renewable sources by 2010; and strengthening municipal governments

A German development bank recently approved a $15 million loan to the Nicaraguan Bank of Finances (BDF) to finance the construction of housing and small business development, according to a statement released yesterday by BDF.

Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG), a member of the German banking group KFW, and its partner Compañía Financiera Holandesa de Desarollo (FMO) approved the loan Tuesday.

The $15 million, 10-year loan will be used to expand financing options for housing for low-income families as well as provide loans for small and medium Nicaraguan businesses, the statement said.

BDF president Juan Bautista Sacasa said the loan will “translate into direct benefits for our clients in general, but especially for families with low incomes.”

DEG has worked with more than 1,000 companies, granting $7.5 billion in loans during its 45 years in business.

-ACAN-EFE