President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received, this Monday (26), the President of Argentina, Alberto Fernández, at the Planalto Palace, in Brasília. The Argentine arrived around 1:15 pm and, following the private meeting, the two had lunch at the Itamaraty Palace. So far, there is no forecast for a statement to the press. Brazil’s biggest trading partners in South America, Argentines face a serious economic crisis, with devaluation of the local currency, loss of purchasing power and high inflation rates. A historic drought also affects grain crops in Argentina, deepening the crisis and jeopardizing the targets agreed by the country with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for debt payments. Lula has articulated initiatives to help the neighboring country, mainly to avoid a drop in Brazilian exports. Last month, in Japan, the Brazilian spoke with the director general of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, about the economic situation in Argentina, in addition to seeking support from the Brics – an economic bloc made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South. Diplomacy Presidents of South American countries met in Brasilia at the end of May – Rafa Neddermeyer/ Agência Brasil Since January, Lula and Fernández have met five times. In addition to Lula’s inauguration, in January, in Brasília, the Brazilian president made an official visit to Argentina in his first international trip in this third term. On that occasion, on January 23, a joint declaration with multiple commitments was signed. In addition to this last visit, Fernández came to Brasília twice, in May – once to meet directly with President Lula and another to participate in the summit of South American presidents. This Monday’s state visit takes place at Lula’s invitation in the context of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Argentina was the first country to recognize independence and establish relations with Brazil. The Brazilian government still assigns a “strategic and priority” character to relations with the neighboring country, “a fundamental axis of Mercosur [bloco formado por Brasil, Argentina, Paraguai e Uruguai] and the process of South American integration”. Argentina is Brazil’s third largest trading partner. In 2022, Brazilian exports to Argentina reached US$ 15.3 billion. Imports of Argentine products, in turn, reached US$ 13 billion. “Bilateral trade, marked by its high added value, plays a strategic role for the development and industrialization of both countries”, assessed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Article amended at 4:16 pm to correct information in the title and in the fourth paragraph: this is the fifth meeting of the two presidents and not the fourth, as initially published.
Agência Brasil
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