The head of Venezuelan diplomacy expressed, through his Twitter, that “12 brotherly countries, through diplomacy and in peace”, share their visions and challenges, to resume our path and achieve unity in favor of the well-being and prosperity of the continent.

This meeting, called by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be attended by 11 of the 12 South American heads of state, with the exception of Peru, and a joint declaration is expected to be issued in which the presidents will report on the consensus reached, according to official sources.

At the opening of the conclave, Lula reflected on the period of the last few years in which “the region has allowed ideologies to divide us and interrupt the integration effort”.

He affirmed that the channels of dialogue and cooperation mechanisms were abandoned and, as a result, “we all lost”.

The Brazilian president called for “renewing our commitment to South American integration”, on which “this feeling of belonging to the same community” depends, he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, the South American leaders will present and discuss concrete initiatives for regional cooperation in areas such as health, defense, physical infrastructure, energy transition, climate change and the fight against transnational crime, among others, the sources said.

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