President to Visit Argentina Next Week for Summit

DESPITE previous statements to thecontrary, President Abel Pacheco willhead to Argentina next week to participatein the Summit of the Americas, joiningleaders from throughout North andLatin America, including U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush.Preceding his trip, Pacheco will meetwith Mexican President Vicente Fox, whowill arrive in Costa Rica Nov. 2. Themain topic of their meeting with be PlanPuebla Panama (PPP), an initiative proposedby Mexico in 2001 to develop continuousinfrastructure through southernMexico and Central America, Pachecosaid Tuesday following his weeklyCabinet meeting. The Presidents will alsodiscuss education.“What interests me most is the possibilitythat Mexico will build an oil refineryhere to improve RECOPE (theNational Oil Refinery),” Pacheco said.The refinery would allow RECOPE toprocess a heavy type of petroleum calledMaya, which cannot be processed herenow, he added.Pacheco will then hitch a ride onFox’s airplane Nov. 3 to Mar del Plata,Argentina for the summit, which will beheld Nov. 4 and 5.There, the main topic of discussionwill be job creation. Pacheco will bejoined on the trip by Labor MinisterFernando Trejos and Roger Carvajal,head of the National Training Institute(INA). The institute is a regional leader intechnical training – providing CostaRica’s poor with the skills needed tocompete for available jobs, Pacheco said.Pacheco will also have a bilateralmeeting with U.S. President Bush.Pacheco previously said he would notattend the summit, but made the statementhe would after announcing Friday that hewas sending the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States(CAFTA) to the Legislative Assembly forratification (see separate story).