MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lula visit announced to Mercosur's newest full member Bolivia

“There are many issues that we have to take forward,” Alcón explained

Bolivia's Deputy Communications Minister Gabriela Alcón announced Friday that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would be arriving in Santa Cruz de la Sierra next Monday for meetings with local authorities and businessmen. It will be the first visit of a foreign head of state since Bolivia's full Southern Common Market membership President Luis Arce Catacora signed into law this week.

Lula “would be arriving on Monday night and on Tuesday there would be an agenda that is being coordinated, the details are being finalized,” Alcón said.

“In the binational Brazil-Bolivia meeting, bilateral, economic, and productive issues will be addressed, in addition to the meeting with businessmen and productive sectors of the country,” explained Alcón.

The Brazilian leader's trip seeks to strengthen bilateral relations and explore new opportunities for cooperation in strategic areas, Alcón also explained. “There are many issues that we have to take forward, because we are neighboring countries, in addition, with the widest border we have, then, there are several issues that are being addressed,” such as energy and border security issues as well as trade and the defense of the Amazon.

On enacting Law 1567, (the Protocol of Accession of Bolivia to the Southern Common Market - Mercosur) Friday, Arce underlined the strategic importance of this diplomatic achievement.

”The Mercosur accession bill was presented to the Plurinational Legislative Assembly on December 15, 2023. On June 14, 2024, it was approved in the Chamber of Deputies and on July 3, 2024, by the House of Senators. After almost seven months, finally today they sent us the sanctioned law, and this very day we enacted it immediately (sic),“ Arce announced.

With this new step, Bolivia will be part of an ”important space” of regional integration, commercial exchange, and productive strengthening, which will allow the country to become an articulating axis in the region, Arce also pointed out.