Venezuelan President Arrives in Ecuador for UNASUR Summit

Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, stated “UNASUR is a great creation of the 21st century” upon his arrival in Ecuador Thursday in anticipation of the upcoming summit being held in the country.

The agenda of the summit will focus on economic development with an eye towards promoting social equality.

The Venezuelan head of state also stated, “Under the leadership of our presidents, UNASUR moves forward to a new stage of consolidation.” The UNASUR regional bloc was created in 2008 and exists to promote regional integration.

Several other presidents in the region have also arrived, including Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Jose Mujica of Uruguay, and Ollanta Humala of Peru. They were received by Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and UNASUR Secretary-General Ernesto Samper.

President Maduro also stated that the meeting will work toward creating a training system for military officials that reflects the doctrines of today's Latin America. In the past the region was affected by military coups and government’s mansy trained at the 

The foreign ministers of the bloc's member nations met earlier Thursday.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also spoke at a meeting ahead of the UNASUR summit, he stressed the role of regional integration.

On Friday, the leaders will travel to Quito to inaugurate the new UNASUR headquarters.