Brazil Hands Over the Mercosur Presidency to Paraguay – Panama is a Recent Member

Brazil handed over the Mercosur presidency to Paraguay on Saturday, at the conclusion of the South American bloc’s summit in the border city of Foz do Iguaçu.  The summit concluded without the publication of a joint declaration , nor with any further statements following the heads of state’s speeches, which were released by their respective offices.  Paraguayan President Santiago Peña announced that during his Mercosur presidency he intends to promote the trade agreements being negotiated by the South American bloc, which also includes Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, and to which Bolivia is in the final stages of joining. 

One of these agreements, with the European Union, is expected to be signed next January in Paraguay, after the Europeans postponed the signing, which had been scheduled for Saturday, due to internal disagreements.  Peña also hopes to promote concrete regional integration projects, especially a waterway and a road integration corridor that will connect Brazil to the Pacific Ocean.  The presidents of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Argentina, Javier Milei; Paraguay, Santiago Peña; Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; and Panama, José Raúl Mulino, as an associated country.