Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom Caballeros, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya, Costa Rica's President Oscar Arias and El Salvador's President Elias Saca (L-R) attend the summit meeting of SICA in Tegucigalpa, capital of Honduras, on Oct. 4, 2008.  (Xinhua Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    MANAGUA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Member states of the Central American Integration System (SICA) Saturday agreed to launch a joint campaign to promote regional economic development and seek possible alternatives to ease the impact of the U.S. financial crisis, according to news from Honduras's capital of Tegucigalpa.

    At the meeting, presidents of the SICA member states also decided to invest 5 billion U.S. dollars in agricultural cooperation and grain production.

    Eliminating the food crisis in Central America is an important part of the campaign, the SICA said.

    The organization further urged the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) to provide emergency loans of 200 million dollars to five major member states to counter the direct and indirect impact of the U.S. sub-prime crisis.

    The presidents will also evaluate the development of the customs union process in the region and advances in negotiations of the economic partnership agreement with the European Union, according to the Latin American News Agency.

    SICA was created under the Protocol of Tegucigalpa inked at the summit of Central American presidents in December 1991, with the goal to promote integration process, peace, democracy and development in Central America.

    It comprises of eight member countries -- El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and Dominica.

Central American leaders meet in Honduras on integration

    MANAGUA, Oct. 4 (Xinhua) -- Leaders and representatives of the Central American Integration System (SICA) member states Saturday met in Honduras's capital Tegucigalpa on regional security and integration, according to reports reaching here.

    Presidents from Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador, a vice president of Panama as well as representatives from the Dominican Republic and Belize attended the summit meeting. Full story