Americas

Americas

Venezuela becomes fifth member of Mercosur

30 June 2012 04:07 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez announced on Friday that Venezuela will become the Common Southern Market (Mercosur)’s fifth full member starting July 31,APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Venezuela will become a full member of the region’s largest trade bloc during a special meeting which will be held in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro on July 31, said Fernandez at the 43rd Mercosur Summit in Mendoza, in western Argentina.

Fernandez said that the join of Venezuela can help promote regional economic integration and strengthen the region’s ability against another international financial crisis.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed his country’s desire to join Mercosur in 1999, but member countries failed to take up the matter until former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office in January 2003.

Later, Venezuela’s entry was approved by the parliaments of Argentina and Uruguay, and finally Brazil in 2009. But opposition from Paraguay, which controlled the parliament, prevented its acceptance. However, Paraguay has since been suspended from the bloc for its controversial impeachment trial of former President Fernando Lugo, and with Paraguay out of the picture, Venezuela’s entry was assured. The presidents of Mercosur’s member countries including Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff, Uruguay’s Jose Mujica and the host country Argentina’s Fernandez attended the summit.