Brazil, Chile to bring Mercosur, Pacific Alliance closer

BRASILIA - Brazil and Chile said here on Thursday that they will strive to bring the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Pacific Alliance closer.

Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Ernesto Araujo and his visiting Chilean counterpart Teodoro Ribera jointly announced their decision to strengthen the ties between the two leading blocs of Latin America.

"We talked a lot about taking advantage ... of Brazil's presidency of Mercosur and Chile's, of the Pacific Alliance, to concretely bring them closer together, symbol of the enormous importance of trade ties between Brazil and Chile," said Araujo.

Brazil currently holds the rotating presidency of the Mercosur, which also gathers Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, while Chile holds the presidency of the Pacific Alliance, which also includes Mexico, Peru and Colombia.

Araujo noted Chile will host the upcoming 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP25) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in December, and Brazil is ready to contribute to the gathering.