ENCARNACION, Paraguay – Security and the anti-drug fight are two of the issues being discussed Thursday in negotiations preceding the 2nd Bilateral Meeting between Paraguay and Argentina, to take place later this week here between the presidents and assorted ministers from both countries.

The general director of Bilateral Policy with the Paraguayan Foreign Ministry, Luis Fernando Avalos, emphasized to reporters that the talks will also deal with connectivity and transportation between the two countries, as well as making progress on the concept of integrated border cities, including Encarnacion and Posadas.

He added that one of the key issues being discussed both on the gubernatorial and ministerial levels is that of transportation and the construction of two bridges to link the countries.

One of the bridges, over the Pilcomayo River, would connect the Paraguayan town of Puerto Falcon, near Asuncion, with Argentina, and the other would cross the Paraguay River, linking the Paraguayan province of Ñeembucu with Argentina’s Formosa province.

Paraguayan Foreign Minister Eladio Loizaga said on Wednesday that at the meeting a decision would be made for both countries to begin calling for the construction of the two bridges as soon as possible.

Cultural, social, economic, border, immigration and health matters will round out the agenda at the bilateral meeting, which will conclude on Friday with a final ceremony at which the accords reached will be made public.

The mechanism for periodic meetings between the two nations, their border authorities and the presidents is an approach that arose starting with the state visit of Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes to Argentina in September 2013.

The first such meeting took place the following November in Buenos Aires and established priorities for the bilateral agenda.