MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula lands in BA to sign bilateral deals and attend Celac Summit

Lula was welcomed by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva landed Sunday shortly after 9 pm Buenos Aires' Aeroparque Jorge Newbery to hold a series of state meetings with local authorities on Monday and attend the VII summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) on Tuesday.

rrencyAlso on the Brazilian Air Force aircraft carrying Lula were Ministers Mauro Vieira (Foreign Affairs) and Fernando Haddad (Economy), as well as foreign policy advisor Celso Amorim. Upon deplaning, Lula was welcomed by Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero.

On Monday, Lula is to meet with Argentine President Alberto Fernández, with whom he will be signing a series of bilateral agreements. Fernández and Lula also confirmed a few hours earlier that they were moving forward with the creation of a “common South American currency,” among other initiatives.

The two leaders said in a joint release that the objective of the new currency was “that it can be used for both financial and commercial flows, reducing operating costs and our external vulnerability” to “simplify and modernize the rules and encourage the use of local currencies” in order to “overcome barriers.”

The Celac Summit will also mark Brazil's return to the forum after parting with it under former President Jair Bolsonaro from “this mechanism of dialogue and regional coordination.”

Lula and Fernández also considered that a “fluid and dynamic” relationship between Brazil and Argentina “is fundamental for the advancement of regional integration. We want Mercosur to constitute a platform for our effective integration into the world, through the joint negotiation of balanced trade agreements that respond to our strategic development objectives,” they said.

Regarding the South American Union of Nations (Unasur), they affirmed that they will work to “rescue and update” this organization and remarked that Argentina and Brazil are “firmly committed to the construction of a strong, democratic, stable and peaceful South America.”

Both presidents also called for “strengthening the role of civil society, state and municipal governments and parliaments as actors in this rapprochement,” and assured that “the ties between Argentina and Brazil are based on the consolidation of peace and democracy.”

“We want democracy forever. Dictatorship never again”, they stressed and condemned “all forms of anti-democratic extremism and political violence.”

The two leaders also said they would focus “on the reindustrialization” of both economies, including “the generation of quality employment and investments in innovation.”

They also underlined “the fundamental role” that both nations play for “food security in a world affected by geopolitical risks and serious disruptions in supply chains.”

Regarding infrastructure, they assured that “a central issue of this new moment is energy integration” and insisted that “electricity interconnection” between both countries “is already a reality” while pointing to the “potential” that “gas integration” may have. They also urged to consolidate a joint position “as possessors of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The fairer and more united world to which we aspire will only be viable if we have the courage to forge our future together. That is the strategic meaning of bilateral integration,” they added.

A Financial Times article published Sunday featuring statements from Argentine Economy Minister Sergio Massa also addressed the issue of the common currency to be named “Sur.”

“There will be a decision to start studying the necessary parameters for a common currency, which includes everything from fiscal issues to the size of the economy and the role of central banks. It would be a study of trade integration mechanisms,” Massa said. “I do not want to create false expectations... it is the first step in a long road that Latin America must travel,” he added.

Once the project is advanced, the countries will invite other Latin American nations to join. “The move could eventually close the second largest monetary bloc in the world,” Massa stressed.

Despite the closeness between Argentine President Alberto Fernandez and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,

The Financial Times also warned that “there will be a concern in Brazil about the idea of joining Latin America's largest economy to that of its ever-volatile neighbor.”

Lula is also to meet with Argentine Vice President Cristina Fernámde de Kirchner on Monday.