Colombian Foreign Affairs minister Jaime Bermúdez Merizalde said Friday that before the standing chairman of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) is decided, Uruguay and Argentina must solve their differences.
President Hugo Chávez expects Venezuela will be fully incorporated to Mercosur before Brazilian president Lula da Silva steps down from office next January first. The two leaders met Wednesday in Brasilia and also agreed to strengthen Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
Argentina filed with United States regulators the terms of its offer to swap up to 20 billion US dollars in defaulted debt, bringing the exchange a step closer to launching.
Leaders from the Union of South American Nations, UNASUR are scheduled to meet May 3 and 4 in Buenos Aires with President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner acting as host and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa as temporary chairman.
Economy Minister Amado Boudou said that the Argentine Government “will not accept any conditions” on its economic policies, allegedly rejecting an eventual revision of its accounts by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).