President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participates this Tuesday morning (23) in the 7th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in Argentina. The opening of the event is scheduled for 10 am in Buenos Aires.
Celac is a regional bloc made up of Brazil, which rejoined it in 2023 after withdrawing two years ago, and 32 other countries. Since its creation, Celac has promoted meetings on various topics of interest to Latin American and Caribbean nations, such as education, social development, culture, transport, infrastructure and energy, in addition to having spoken on behalf of the entire group on the occasion of issues discussed globally, such as nuclear disarmament, climate change and the issue of drugs, among others.
In January 2020, former President Jair Bolsonaro decided to suspend Brazilian participation in the group. On January 5, Itamaraty announced to representatives of CELAC member countries the decision to return to the regional bloc. The measure was also communicated to the governments of countries and groups of nations with which Celac has relations, such as the European Union, China, India, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the African Union.
“Brazil’s return to the Latin American community of States is an indispensable step towards the recomposition of our diplomatic heritage and for the full reinsertion of the country into the international community”, informed, at the time, the Itamaraty, through a note.
Argentina
Yesterday (22), President Lula began his first international trip with a visit to Argentina. In the neighboring country, he announced, together with the Argentine president Alberto Fernández, the study for the creation of a common currency for commercial exchanges, he said that he is back to make good agreements so that Brazil and Argentina can grow economically and announced that the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) will once again finance projects in neighboring countries.
Lula also had meetings with Brazilian and Argentine businessmen and discussed with Fernández the bilateral relationship between the two countries.