Bolivian President Evo Morales and his Argentine counterpart Nestor Kirchner signed a major energy deal on Thursday, with a view to increasing the sale of Bolivian natural gas to its larger neighbour, according to dpa. Morales and Kirchner appeared at a packed sports hall in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, and numerous peasants witnessed the signing of a deal which authorities in La Paz considered "the most important in the current decade." "Today we are giving a real example of integration. This contract - which at the request ... of the comrade Bolivian president we wanted to sign here in Bolivia and in Santa Cruz, before Bolivian society and the society of all Latin America - is a fundamental strategic step," Kirchner said. He committed Argentina to guaranteeing the "necessary investment" and consolidating the reserves of the Andean country. Morales, in turn, said that the deal will start reducing the "asymmetry between Bolivia and Argentina." The agreement will allow the Argentine state energy company Enarsa and its Bolivian counterpart YPFB to work together to develop energy projects in both countries. Plans include a plant to separate natural gas liquids and the exploitation Bolivian gas fields by Enarsa, as well as allowing YPFB to take part in natural gas transport in Argentina. Kirchner and Morales also signed the contract for the daily sale of 27.7 million cubic metres of Bolivian gas to Argentina over a 20- year period.
