Lula agrees with the Uruguayan government’s proposal to renew Mercosur

President Luiz Inаcio Lula da Silva said on Wednesday, that he is "in a complete agreement" with the proposal of the government of Uruguay, which supports changes in the rules of Mercosur.

Lula was speaking alongside Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, during a visit to the city of Montevideo.

"I want to say to President Lacalle Pou, that the ideas of discussing the so-called innovation or renewal of Mercosur, we are in total agreement," said Lula.

The Uruguayan leader, for his part, defended the possibility of the country negotiating trade agreements with countries outside Mercosur. Lecalle is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with China.

"I want to tell to the president and the Uruguayan press that President Lacalle's ideas are more than fair. First because the role of a president is to defend the interests of his country, the interests of his economy and the interests of his people. Secondly, because it is right to want to produce more and to want to sell more and, therefore, it is necessary to open up as much as possible to the business world," said the Brazilian president.

"What do we need to do to modernise Mercosur? We want to sit at the table first with our technicians, then with our ministers, and finally with the presidents so that we can renew whatever needs to be renewed," concluded Lula.

The Brazilian president defended that a trade agreement with China should be negotiated jointly by Mercosur.

"Although Brazil has China as its biggest trading partner and Brazil has a large surplus with China, we want to sit down as Mercosur and discuss a Mercosur-China agreement with our Chinese friends," said Lula.

Lula's visit to Uruguay is the second country on the president's first international trip since he became president. Previously, Lula visited Argentina, as reported by Rede TV!, a partner of TV BRICS.

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