The 03.06.2023nd MERCOSUR Summit formally begins today (XNUMX) with meetings of foreign ministers and ministers of economy in Iguazú, province of Misiones (northeast of Argentina). The Summit of Presidents is scheduled for tomorrow.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship announced yesterday in a statement that the formal opening of the conclave will take place at 10 a.m. and later, starting at 15 p.m., Santiago Cafiero and his peers will continue the meeting of foreign ministers, which will be attended by representatives of the associated States and special guests.
Simultaneously, a meeting of Ministers of Economy and Presidents of Central Banks of the regional bloc, Bolivia and associated States will take place.
On Tuesday, starting at 10:30 a.m., the Plenary Session of Heads of State of MERCOSUR, Bolivia, Associated States and Special Guests will begin. It will be headed by President Alberto Fernández together with his peers, being the first time that the leaders of the Mercosur countries will be present at a Summit since 2019.
In the case of Paraguay, the delegation will be made up of both the acting President and the elected president, who will take office in August of this year.
During both sessions, the work carried out by the Argentine Pro Tempore Presidency in the first half of 2023 will be presented.
The Foreign Ministry advanced some actions carried out to deepen the integration of MERCOSUR during this period. “Progress was made in the bloc's external negotiations, in particular, in the bloc's preparatory work for negotiations with the European Union, with the aim of balancing and updating the Agreement and strengthening it through financing for SMEs and the development of new value chains that allow for the anchoring of investments and the promotion of decent and inclusive work in MERCOSUR,” he said.
Argentina also completed the closing of its bilateral chapter in the negotiations for the deepening of the MERCOSUR-Israel Free Trade Agreement, and promoted discussions with other Latin American countries (Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Honduras) and promoted the start of MERCOSUR talks with the United Arab Emirates.
Likewise, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, in 2022, the total trade MERCOSUR's trade with the rest of the world totaled USD 752.600 billion, reaching the highest historical value for the bloc.
As for the intra-bloc tradeFollowing a period of slowing trade following the 2009 financial crisis and the pandemic, trade between the bloc's partners has gained new momentum in the past two years, surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 38%, rising from €33.000 billion in 2019 to €46.000 billion in 2022, the highest figure since 2014.
The products with the greatest growth were manufactured goods of industrial origin, including vehicles and chemical products.
In short, calendar is:
Today, at 10:00, the Ordinary Meeting of the Common Market Council (CMC) with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. Then, at 15:00 p.m., the ordinary meeting will continue, which will also include the Ministers of Economy and the Presidents of the Central Banks of MERCOSUR.
Tomorrow Tuesday, the Summit of Presidents will begin at 10:30. It is expected to end at 13:30. (Statement from the Argentine Foreign Ministry)
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