Argentina's Fernandez to visit Brazil, meet with Lula on Tuesday

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Apr 2023 09:14

The Argentine President is set to visit Brasilia and meet with his Brazilian counterpart following talks about the UNASUR bloc.

Argentina's President Alberto Fernandez greets Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, January 2, 2023 (Reuters)

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez will visit Brasilia on Tuesday to meet with his counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a government source in Buenos Aires told AFP, without giving further details.

This comes after Lula and Fernandez held on Thursday a virtual conference, during which they discussed the return of their countries to the South American Union of Nations (UNASUR) and other bilateral issues.

"Back in Brazil, today [from Portugal and Spain] I called my friend and president of Argentina @alferdez. We talked about Unasur, fraternal relations in our continent, and the deepening of trade between our countries," Lula tweeted.

De volta ao Brasil, hoje no Alvorada liguei para meu amigo e presidente da Argentina @alferdez. Falamos sobre a Unasul, as relações fraternas em nosso continente e o aprofundamento do comércio entre nossos países 🇧🇷🇦🇷

📸: @ricardostuckert pic.twitter.com/d5RdM1u0pv
— Lula (@LulaOficial) April 27, 2023

Lula and Fernandez reviewed "the evolution of bilateral trade and progress in the implementation of cooperation agreements signed in recent months," as per a statement issued by the office of the Argentine President.

The statement indicated that these agreements cover the economic and financial, defense, health and science, technology, and innovation fields "within the framework of the relaunching of the strategic alliance between both nations."

It added that during their 45-minute conversation, the two leaders spoke about the role of UNASUR and stressed the importance of deepening "the bonds of fraternity and bilateral trade."

It is noteworthy that earlier this month, Lula officially announced Brazil's return to UNASUR. In 2019, the Brazilian government of then-President Jair Bolsonaro withdrew from the bloc by presidential decree, without going through Congress.

On its part, Argentina also recently announced its return to the bloc, currently made up of Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela, in addition to the suspended Peru.