Chavez, Lula Hail Bilateral
Relations
BRASILIA - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez
and his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio
Lula da Silva Wednesday hailed the
achievements of bilateral relations in
recent years and pledged to further
strengthen cooperation among South American
nations.
The two leaders were speaking after a
regular quarterly meeting, which saw the
signing of a series of cooperation
agreements, particularly in the field of oil
and power generation.
A declared defier of the United States,
Chavez praised Lula for refusing to be
"subordinate to the U. S." and seeking to
promote ties with Venezuela and other South
American countries.
During the past eight years since Lula came
to power, the two countries held 17
bilateral presidential meetings and made
more progress in improving ties than in the
previous 200 years, they said.
Both believed the improvement of bilateral
ties in the past years was "irreversible."
Lula, due to leave the presidency at the end
of this year, also stressed the importance
of South America to his country.
He said that when he became president, he
decided to attach more importance to
Mercosur -- the trading bloc made up of
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay --
and expand relations with Latin American
countries, which allowed the region as a
whole to become his country's most important
partner, surpassing the European Union.
The two leaders also stressed the importance
of South American Nations Union (UNASUR) and
welcomed Venezuela's upcoming entry into
Mercosur as a full member.
During a ceremony earlier Wednesday, Lula
offered Chavez a jersey of the Brazilian
football team autographed by players.
Brazil announced that the next regular
quarterly meeting between Lula and Chavez is
scheduled for Aug. 3 and the last will be in
December, shortly before Lula leaves office. |
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