On Tuesday (04.07.2023/2023/XNUMX), Argentine President Alberto Fernández handed over the Pro Tempore Presidency (PPT) of MERCOSUR to his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who will hold the position for the next six months of XNUMX.
The city of Puerto Iguazú, Province of Misiones, hosted the LXII Summit of Heads of State of MERCOSUR and Associated States, in person after 2019.
In this context, Fernández said that “it is an honor to hand over the Pro Tempore Presidency of MERCOSUR to a friend, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.” He added: “I know that you will lead with conviction and clarity. Your challenges are our challenges. Your decisions are our decisions. And I will accompany you in this next semester.”
For his part, Lula da Silva stressed that MERCOSUR has "commitments that cannot be postponed" ahead of it. He said: "We need to conclude the MERCOSUR-European Union agreement."
In this regard, he announced that on Wednesday (tomorrow), he has planned a telephone conversation with the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, who has just assumed the presidency of the European bloc, to discuss the dialogue.
In addition, Lula said that they will send as soon as possible the response of MERCOSUR to the new letter of environmental commitments attached by the community bloc to the agreement reached in 2019 with the intention of closing "a definitive agreement this semester."
Brazil will hold the rotating presidency of the group until December, which was held by Argentina in the first six months of the year, with the mission of unblocking trade negotiations with the European Union.
Mercosur and the European Union reached a general agreement in 2019 after two decades of talks, but the ratification process has been halted in the face of new demands from both blocs.
Negotiations with the European Union have been the main issue at this summit of the leaders of the four full members of the bloc: Alberto Fernández (Argentina), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Mario Abdo Benítez (Paraguay) and Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay).
Ambitious external agenda
The President of Brazil anticipated an ambitious external agenda. In this regard, he said that he wants to review and advance the agreements that are being negotiated with Canada, South Korea and Singapore and "explore new negotiation fronts" with partners such as China, Indonesia, Vietnam and countries in Central America and the Caribbean.
For him, combating the resurgence of protectionism in the world also implies rescuing the leading role of MERCOSUR in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
He said there is also room to expand and improve trade agreements with Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Likewise, Brazil will work for the approval of Bolivia as a full member of MERCOSUR.
Founded in 1991, the Common Market of the South brings together Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Together, these countries account for 67% of the territory of South America, equivalent to 11,9 million square kilometers. The 270 million inhabitants of the countries of the bloc are equivalent to 62% of the population of South America. The MERCOSUR countries represented 67% of the Gross Domestic Product, the sum of goods and services in South America in 2021. (Opening of the LXII Summit)
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