BRASILIA, Brazil (CNN) -- Peru and Ecuador signed a historic peace
                  treaty on Monday, ending a 57-year dispute over a slice of Amazon jungle
                  that brought them to war three times.

                  As dignitaries from three continents looked on, the foreign ministers of the
                  two South American nations signed the accord in Brazil's capital, where
                  most of the peace talks took place.

                  The treaty sets the boundary on a contested 48-mile (78 km) section of their
                  border in the Andean foothills.

                  Both countries laid claim to the jungle-cloaked area that was left undefined in
                  the 1942 Rio de Janeiro Protocol that set territorial limits.

                  Under the pact, the disputed section of the border will follow the heights of
                  the Cordillera del Condor mountain range, as Peru had claimed.

                  But a hill within Peru's territory called Tiwintza will be granted to Ecuador's
                  government as private property, even though it will remain under Peruvian
                  sovereignty.

                  That would make ownership of the 250 acres (1-square-kilometer)
                  somewhat comparable to an individual Ecuadoran owning property in Peru.
                  The Peruvian government has 30 months to build a road from Tiwintza to the
                  Ecuadoren border.

                  The agreement also calls for two contiguous national parks to be created in
                  the disputed area.

                  Presidents Alberto Fujimori of Peru and Jamil Mahuad of Ecuador looked
                  on from a dais, sitting on either side of Brazilian President Fernando
                  Henrique Cardoso.

                  They were accompanied by Presidents Eduardo Frei of Chile, Carlos
                  Menem of Argentina, Hugo Banzer of Bolivia and Andres Pastrana of
                  Colombia. King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain also attended, while
                  the United States was represented by U.S. envoy Luigi Einaudi and Thomas
                  "Mack" McLarty, a former aide to U.S. President Bill Clinton.

                  "It's been a good week for peace accords, with Ireland and Israel and now
                  this," said McLarty. "Hopefully, Kosovo will move forward in the near
                  term."

                  The treaty also set down the terms of bilateral trade and navigational
                  agreements and created a new bilateral committee to resolve border issues
                  peacefully.

                  The agreement is expected to pave the way for $3 billion in internationally
                  funded investment in oil, power and other projects in the impoverished
                  region.

                  Troops were just 40 yards (meters) apart in August, spurring diplomatic
                  efforts to end the dispute which traces its roots back to the 19th century.

                  The two neighbors fought wars in 1941, 1981 and 1995 over the region.

                  Tiwintza has special significance for Ecuador, because Ecuadors' troops
                  successfully defended it against repeated assaults by Peruvian troops during
                  the 1995 border war. Twelve Ecuadorian soldiers are believed to be buried
                  there.

                       The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.