The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as the United Nations lead agency in the field of telecommunications, which is responsible for promoting initiatives for the standardization, development and improvement of telecommunication facilities at the global level, coordinating institutional research policies to further the development of science and technology in its sphere of competence, encouraging the application of scientific and technological advances in order to contribute to the overall development of Member States and promoting the pooling of efforts to consolidate the exchange of up-to-date and reliable scientific information among all the world's institutions, on the one hand, and the Samuel Darío Maldonado Andean Foundation (FUNDANDINA), as an autonomous non-profit making agency with legal personality dedicated to the promotion, organization and development of scientific and cultural activities, with the intention of supporting a culture which emphasizes the values of honour, solidarity, common social purpose and continuous creation, have agreed on the following principles:

1. We are convinced that the world we live in is characterized more and more by the rapidity with which it is changing, the richness of its historic content, the general transformation of existing structures and the desire to introduce essential reforms.
2. We are conscious that Latin American society, in keeping with the circumstances of the present day, has fully accepted the need to pursue progress and that signs are beginning to become evident of a trend towards a globalizing conception of human activities, as an ideal which will make it possible to focus human wills together on a common end and give meaning to the whole national effort.
3. We are persuaded that Latin America society needs as a matter of urgency to formulate a regional strategy, in order to ensure its survival in a world characterized by globalization in all areas, both economic and social.

   Such a regional strategy will only be possible on the basis of the development of scientific and technological research and innovation. This conviction arises from the fact that it is becoming more and more necessary with every day that passes to bridge the gap between highly developed and developing societies.

4. We are sure that qualitative improvement of businesses and of decision-making processes will require devotion of the most demanding efforts and utilization of the most up-to-date innovations in modern scientific and technological developments with a view to achieving rapid transformation of businesses in order to provide the population at large with the opportunities and facilities that will effectively meet the growing requirements for accelerated change in our society.
5. We are convinced that scientific modernization of businesses necessarily entails the introduction of the innovations produced by the highly developed societies, and that this task has to become one of the highest priorities, like the need to promote a vigorous policy for the independent development of research, science and technology.
6. We are conscious of the fact that a genuine feeling of solidarity requires a combination of efforts and wills in order to provide the individual businesses and society with the necessary tools to establish themselves as genuine leaders in the process and to create conditions which will make it possible to achieve peaceful coexistence among peoples.
7. We are persuaded that the inclusion of Latin American businesses in electronic commerce in the global market requires intensive cooperation among our institutions and businessmen participating in the process.

The acceptance of these principles by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Samuel Dario Maldonado Andean Foundation (FUNDANDINA) has led them to sign, as they are in fact signing, this Institutional Agreement, which will be governed by the following provisions:

1. The organizations signing this Agreement undertake to take action to spread knowledge which will strengthen telecommunication systems in Latin America.
2. The signatory organizations undertake to encourage activities which will promote utilization of the most recent information technologies in order to facilitate the development of electronic commerce over the broadest possible spectrum of Latin American society and in this way to facilitate the incorporation of these countries' production sector into the global market.
3. The signatory organizations undertake to encourage the development and training of human resources in the relevant areas, for which purpose FUNDANDINA's Training and Development Centre and all the resources at its disposal will play an essential part in the implementation of this Agreement.
4. FUNDANDINA undertakes to establish the Electronic Commerce Unit, which will have a life of its own and the capacity for constant growth, applying the broad range of knowledge covered by this Agreement. There will be a responsibility to continue research and development until the systems necessary to make electronic commerce available to Latin American society come into operation.
5. The signatory organizations agree to appoint a Technical Committee composed of representatives of the signatory agencies and those designated by agreement between them in order to coordinate the work involved in bringing the Electronic Commerce Unit into operation. The functions and members of this Technical Committee will be specified in a subsequent document to be drawn up by ITU and FUNDANDINA within a reasonable period.