The meeting will be held on May 30 in Brasilia, and his Uruguayan counterpart, Luis Lacalle Pou, will be present.

“It seems important to me the creation of a space for meeting, mutual knowledge, dialogue and reflection that you have rightly called ‘Retreat’,” Mujica added on his letter to Lula, according to Montevideo Portal press.

“It is necessary to build closeness in our region to make ourselves heard at the international level,” the leader noted in his letter.

Mujica added that “the challenges we are facing as humanity require more than ever collective efforts and innovative proposals.”

The former Uruguayan President, who has been reflecting and proposing on regional integration, suggested facilitating the movement of citizens in this part of the continent.

“Student exchanges and the validation of diplomas should increase, multiplying the spaces of encounter between the new generations, whose future is at stake now,” he pointed out.

“We believe that the projects must, in some way, strengthen continental solidarity and awaken a sense of belonging. We think they should be executed with the people,” Jose Mujica suggested.

ef/omr/lam/ool.