The Brazilian and Argentinean governments will sign over 20 agreements today at a meeting between the presidents of the two countries, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Brazil) and Nestor Kirchner (Argentina).
The meeting, which takes place in the Argentinean city of Puerto Iguazú, marks the 20th anniversary of Brazil-Argentina Friendship Day, created in 1985 by former presidents José Sarney (Brazil) and Raúl Alfonsin (Argentina), who will also attend the ceremony.
According to ambassador José Eduardo Martins Felício, secretary-general for South America in the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations (Itamaraty), the chief agreements provide for Brazilians and Argentineans to live and work in each other’s countries, Portuguese and Spanish language instruction in the two countries, and the joint construction of a satellite. Other agreements deal with the areas of communication, energy, and culture.
Lula and Kirchner are also expected to sign the Puerto Iguazú Pledge, which renews the integration between the two countries, as well as a declaration in which the two nations promise to use nuclear energy for peaceful ends.
Martins Felício informed that Venezuela’s admission to the Mercosur and the Argentinean proposal to impose barriers against Brazilian products that harm its industries are not part of the Puerto Iguazú agenda.
According to the ambassador, the discussion of the Argentinean proposal will probably remain in abeyance until the next Mercosur meeting, set for the first week of December in the Uruguayan capital, Montevideo.
Agência Brasil
