Photo: Presidency.
President Alberto Fernández celebrated on Tuesday the decision of his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to convene a summit of leaders of South American countries “to integrate the region” and, quoting Néstor Kirchner, stated that “new problems require new solutions”.
“As Néstor Kirchner said, the old molds have been broken and new problems require new solutions. I welcome the initiative of the President of Brazil, to promote this meeting that unites the presidents of South America to integrate the region”, highlighted the Head of State through his account on the social network Twitter.
As Néstor Kirchner said, the old molds have been broken and new problems require new solutions.
I celebrate the initiative of the President of Brazil, @LulaOficial, to promote this meeting that unites the presidents of South America to integrate the region. https://t.co/ZWLbBqnbZT
– Alberto Fernández (@alferdez) May 30, 2023
Fernández arrived at the Itamaraty Palace, the headquarters of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, at 10:20 a.m., accompanied by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and offered a speech in the morning plenary session, to later hold personal conversations with other leaders present at the summit in the afternoon. .
The meeting of presidents of Unasur is taking place at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, with an open agenda, and with a tentative ending time at 6:00 p.m., sources from the Argentine government informed Télam.
After the summit, a dinner is planned, which will be provided at the Palacio de la Alvorada, in honor of the participants.
In addition to Fernandez and Lula, the meeting will be attended by Presidents Luis Arce (Bolivia), Gabriel Boric (Chile), Gustavo Petro (Colombia), Guillermo Lasso (Ecuador), Irfaan Ali (Guyana), Mario Abdo Benitez (Paraguay), Chan Santokhi (Suriname), Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay) and Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela).
The current president of Peru, Dina Boluarte, constitutionally prevented from attending the summit, is represented by the president of the Council of Ministers, Alberto Otárola.
Photo: Presidency.
The summit was called by Lula after Brazil decided to rejoin the South American Union of Nations (Unasur) and as part of the diplomatic efforts to recover the regional integration that was built in the first decade of this century.
Fernández climbed the traditional staircase of the modernist building of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry accompanied by Cafiero and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Mauro Vieira.
The city of Brasilia is today under an extensive security operation to receive the 11 leaders and the Peruvian representative.
The first president to arrive was the Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro, who yesterday made a state visit to Brazil, the first after eight years and after being prohibited from entering the country by the government of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
After the bilateral with Maduro, Lula defended the South American union as a “bloc” to overcome “serious problems that are more than 500 years old.”
“If we are together, we have a market of 450 million people, we have strength in the negotiation process and that is why this summit is important,” Lula said.
Meanwhile, the Argentine president arrived last night in the city of Brasilia, where he was received by the Argentine ambassador in Brazil, Daniel Scioli.
Photo: Presidency.
Fernández traveled accompanied by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero; the Secretary General of the Presidency, Julio Vitobello; and the spokesperson for the Presidency, Gabriela Cerruti.
HAPPENS NOW | President of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez.
Follow via https://t.co/ExNP5p9FNL
📱DIGITAL/PR pic.twitter.com/yRaFkazZ5p
— Government of Brazil (@govbr) May 30, 2023
Since Lula came to power, the Argentine head of state has sought to accelerate integration with Brazil, with the Mercosur countries, and has focused on the rehabilitation of the South American bloc, of which former President Néstor Kirchner was its first secretary general.
The meeting will seek to motorize Unasur, which, with the return of Argentina and Brazil, once again has the six countries necessary to be able to hold sessions, since in its constitutive letter it remarks that it must have half of the members, which are 12 .
The six countries that currently make up Unasur are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. The remaining six are Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.
Photo: Presidency.
