On Monday, Brazil's President Lula da Silva laid a wreath on the monument to General Jose de San Martin (1778-1850) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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As part of his first visit to Argentina since he assumed his third term on January 1, Lula and first lady Rosangela da Silva led a ceremony attended by Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Santiago Cafiero.
After this official tribute to General San Martin, whose revolutionary campaigns against the Spanish Empire were decisive for the independence of Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Lula went to the Pink House to hold a meeting with President Alberto Fernandez.
They will sign bilateral agreements in areas such as energy infrastructure, financial integration, defense, health, science, technology, innovation, and Antarctic cooperation.
Lula and Fernandez will also talk about the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), an economic bloc that includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela. Currently, Bolivia is also part of this integration agreement with a special status of "member in the process of accession" with the right to speak but without the right to vote.
The Brazilian president will also take part in the opening of a binational business meeting and a meeting with representatives of human rights organizations in Argentina.
On Tuesday, Lula will participate in the 7th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Later, he will travel to Uruguay at the invitation of President Luis Lacalle Pou.