Argentina calls to strengthen Mercosur unity

Montevideo, Dec 6 (Prensa Latina) Argentina assumed today the pro tempore presidency of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) with the concern of individual positions and the intention of promoting the unity of the bloc.

This was stated by President Alberto Fernandez at the summit taking place in this capital, in which he urged to respect the rules of the association.

This was in response to the speech of the host, Luis Lacalle Pou, who defended his government’s decision to open the Uruguayan economy to the world, beyond Mercosur, particularly its intention to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and move forward with a free trade agreement with China.

Mr. Fernandez stressed the strategic importance of the bloc for food production on a global scale, where there are areas of the planet that depend on exports from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.

I believe that the way forward is to review once and for all how we resolve the asymmetries we have, he said, in direct reference to his Uruguayan counterpart, and, to do so, corrections will have to be made, he said.

For his part, the Brazilian vice-president, Hamilton Mourao, called for respecting the founding principles of Mercosur and building internal consensus.