To do this, in the coming days it will create an inter-ministerial commission that will be coordinated by the Ministry of Planning and which will have the mission of unblocking integration works in South Americaconsidered key for the Brazilian government, CNN Brazil reported.
According to the Secretary of International Affairs and Development, Renata Amaralthe commission, which will be created by a decree signed by President Lula da Silva, will organize the internal activity of the federal government to effectively begin the works.
At the end of last year, Brazil announced that multilateral and development banks would make available $10 billion to finance development projects infrastructure aimed at advancing South American integration, seeking to improve trade and reduce transportation time to Asia.
Within the plans, the development bank BNDES would allocate 3,000 million dollars to projects only in Brazil.
Although polarization is expected in the presidential elections of USA and possible repercussions in countries in the region, Brazil continues to perceive strong collaboration from its neighbors in discussions on integration projects, among them Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguaywhich have right-wing governments, said Amaral.
At the end of 2023, Lula’s government regularized an unpaid commitment of 100 million dollars with the Mercosur Structural Convergence Fund (Focem), unlocking 70 million to which the country was entitled for non-refundable financing of projects aimed at integration and the reduction of regional inequalities.
“It is a sign for the Mercosur“said Amaral about the justification of the operation, since this regularization, pending since 2015, effectively meant spending more than what was received from the fund.
He maintained that the eight projects approved by the government last week to receive the resources will bring, in parallel, gains in trade and infrastructure integration.
Source: Ambito
