Brasilia [Brazil], May 31: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday highlighted a "sense of urgency" among South American leaders to strengthen regional integration.
"What brings us together today in Brasilia is the sense of urgency to collectively look at our region again," he said at the summit in Brazil's capital Brasilia where leaders from the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) gathered to "relaunch" the regional bloc.
"It is the determination to redefine a common vision and relaunch concrete actions for sustainable development, peace and the well-being of our populations," he added.
Referring to the political polarization that has characterized the region in recent years, the Brazilian president admitted "we let ideologies divide us" and "we all lost."
Lula da Silva proposed a broad cooperation scheme, including the possibility of creating a common regional currency or similar mechanism to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar in trade.
"A strong, self-confident and politically organized South America increases the possibilities of affirming a true Latin American and Caribbean identity at the international level," he said.
Unasur, an intergovernmental regional organization, was founded in 2008. Present at the summit were the presidents of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela.
Source: Xinhua