Source: Ottawa Sun (Canada) Contact: http://www.canoe.ca/OttawaSun/ Pubdate: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 Author: Anne Dawson, Parliamentary Bureau Newshawk's Comment: Published in all the Sun papers in Canada CHRETIEN VOWS DEAL TO CURB DRUGS SANTIAGO, Chile -- Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday vowed a new free-trade deal covering North, South and Central America will "curb the scourge of illegal drugs." In wrapping up the weekend Summit of the Americas, which officially launched negotiations to create a $10-trillion free-trade zone for 800 million people from Canada to Argentina, Chretien said Canada was at the forefront of initiating a concrete plan to stop the havoc wreaked by illegal drug use in the Western Hemisphere. "We want to work in very close collaboration to make sure that the production and the consumption of drugs will go down in all parts of the Americas because it is a disease that is hurting a lot of people," Chretien said during the final session of Summit talks. AGREEMENT "Everybody has agreed to work very closely to try to improve the situation." Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy will lead a group of foreign ministers from the 34 countries which will comprise the free-trade zone to study the problem and come up with "long-term solutions." He said he wants to zero in on all angles of the problem -- the countries that produce drugs, those which transport them and the ones that consume drugs. "This kind of impact goes far beyond being simply a question of supply and demand," said Axworthy. The leaders also agreed to make education a top priority as nearly half of the kids in Latin American countries, excluding those in the Caribbean, are currently not attending any school. About 50% of the population in the southern hemisphere is under the age of 16. Chilean President Eduardo Frei told the Summit that the leaders agreed that by the year 2010 they will have plans in place to ensure all children in the Americas will begin and stay in elementary school and at least 75% of youth will complete a secondary education. Copyright (c) 1998, Canoe Limited Partnership.