Following an encounter with the President of Argentina, Néstor Kirchner, and the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva affirmed that the meeting constitutes proof that “South America is living a different reality.”
The three heads of state are in Uruguay, where they took part in the inauguration ceremony for the new President, Tabaré Vázquez. For Lula, the continent is experiencing an important historical moment and South American integration is already an “irreversible fact.”
According to the President, new meetings should be scheduled in the near future among Ministers from the three countries in the economic, social, and energy spheres.
Lula said, as well, that he intends to broaden the encounter with Argentina and Venezuela. He wants to converse with other Mercosur members to “take advantage of each country’s complementarity.”
The President also assessed that the recently founded South American Community of Nations has been consolidated and that the defense of South America has been fortified.
Energy Alliance
Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, after taking part in the inauguration of the new President of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, gave an interview in which he said that the Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela countries are taking “a step towards trilateralism.”
Among the topics discussed by the three presidents was the “energy alliance,” which is not confined to investments on the part of state oil companies but encompasses technological exchanges and business relations among Petrobras, PDVSA (Venezuelan Petroleum, S/A), and Enarsa (Argentinean Energy, S/A).
Other items discussed include food production, foreign debt, science and technology, and the countries’ physical integration.
The Brazilian Presidential adviser on International Affairs, Marco Aurélio Garcia, revealed that the meeting should deal with cooperation on infrastructure projects and issues related to petroleum, of which the three countries are major producers.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil