BUENOS AIRES, July 21 (NNN-Xinhua) — Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero on Wednesday called for unity and a global outlook for the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), during the 60th ordinary meeting of the bloc made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
“The future of Mercosur is linked to the deepening of its internal agenda and an appropriate international projection,” Cafiero said during the event held in the Paraguayan city of Luque.
The preparatory meeting took up the issues to be analyzed and discussed by the bloc’s member nations on Thursday at the Mercosur summit.
“The transformation of global value chains and logistical difficulties, first during a pandemic and now a war in Europe that impacts the whole world, demand a deeper and more frank and decisive process of integration,” Cafiero said in a statement issued by the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
He also called for the promotion of “a firmer and more decisive regional industrial and social policy,” and warned that the region would be weaker without Mercosur.
Cafiero advised against a break in consensus within the bloc, since this could have a negative impact “on the daily fate of our four peoples, connected by cultural, social, commercial, tourist, financial and production ties.”
In addition, he stressed the importance of “modernizing” Mercosur, adding that it would mean “transforming and deepening the integration process.” — NNN-XINHUA
