The Brazilian president, Lula Silvaopened the 63rd summit of the Mercosur and in his speech he made a fun and sporting invitation to Luis Lacalle Pou once his term ends.
Lula Da Silva will pass the pro tempore mandate to the president of Paraguay, Santiago Penaand in the opening speech of the summit he highlighted his sadness at letting go of Alberto Fernandez, who will leave the Presidency of Argentina to leave the president-elect, Javier Milei.
When saying goodbye to Fernández, Lula highlighted his friendship with the Argentine president and recalled that he maintains friendships with other presidents of the bloc. “I care about people. My friendship It is forever, it is not a friendship of mandates,” he said.
In that sense, he told Lacalle Pou of his friendship with the former presidents of the Uruguay, Tabare Vazquez and José “Pepe” Mujica and he hopes they can be friends. “After your term ends, and we meet anywhere in Rio de Janeiro, we are going to look for a beach that I know you like.” to surf through Brazilian waters,” said his Brazilian counterpart.
Uruguay’s insistences on China
The intention of Lacalle Pou at this summit, in addition to the signing of the agreement with the EU, is to propose to the other leaders a summit with your pair China, Xi Jinping, to advance the negotiation of a free trade agreement (TLC), something that he anticipated after the signing of the strategic alliance, concluded last month.
He was also accompanied by Paganini in his intentions, who in his speech yesterday insisted on the need to advance a process of making the bloc more flexible.
In this regard, the chancellor pointed out that in the Mercosur “today meaning prevails protectionist”. While since Uruguay The aim is for the block to be “the natural platform for insertion into the world ”, allowing countries to negotiate without the endorsement of the partners at the same time as seeking a greater willingness to close new trade agreements.
“That is why we have to improve it, modernize it, provide it with greater agility, flexibility and execution. We want to take care of it, we want to develop it, so that it is not misunderstood,” Paganini emphasized regarding this “platform,” and making it clear that, at least for the moment, the government’s intentions have nothing to do with a break with Mercosur.
For the government, the ideal is that of open regionalism as the basis of the common project. “We have to be consolidated regionally,” she said, and pointed out as a positive example the agreement closed between Mercosur and Singapore for being “a modern, cutting-edge agreement.”
About the negotiations with China, Paganini maintained that “this position of my country to open up to the world is the product of the conviction of the entire national political and business system, it is a foreign policy of State”.
Source: Ambito
