THE PRESIDENTS OF BOLIVIA AND ARGENTINA WILL MEET NEXT WEEK IN SOUTHERN BOLIVIA IN BID TO NAIL DOWN A PRICE FOR BOLIVIAN NATURAL GAS SOLD TO ITS NEIGHBOR, AP REPORTED. THE BOLIVIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SAID THURSDAY THAT PRESIDENTS EVO MORALES AND NESTOR KIRCHNER WILL MEET NEAR THE ARGENTINE BORDER IN THE BOLIVIAN TOWN OF VILLAZON. THE DATE OF NEXT WEEK'S MEETING WAS NOT GIVEN. LOW-LEVEL NEGOTIATIONS HAVE TAKEN PLACE FOR MORE THAN A YEAR AS THE TWO COUNTRIES ATTEMPT TO REACH A LONG-TERM CONTRACT THAT WILL NOT ONLY RAISE THE PRICE BUT THE AMOUNT OF THE GAS BOLIVIA SENDS TO ARGENTINA. BOLIVIA CURRENTLY SELLS ARGENTINA ABOUT 6 MILLION CUBIC METERS PER DAY AT ROUGHLY US$3.18(¤2.50) PER MILLION BRITISH THERMAL UNITS. THE BOLIVIAN GOVERNMENT HAS PROPOSED RAISING THE PRICE TO US$5.50 (¤4.30), WHILE THE ARGENTINES HAVE COUNTERED WITH US$5 (¤3.90).
