Brazilian, Argentine presidents reaffirm pledge to deepen economic ties

BRASILIA - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez on Monday reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral economic ties.

During a meeting at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lula highlighted the importance of economic and financial integration, and proposed to help Brazilian exporters maintain their presence in the Argentine market amid the latter's economic woes.

"We are working on creating a comprehensive line of financing for Brazilian exports to Argentina. It does not make sense for Brazil to lose space in the Argentine market to other countries because they offer credit and we do not," he said in a joint statement.

To promote economic integration, the two countries are also mulling an initiative to establish a regional currency for trade that would function alongside their respective national currencies, according to the statement.

Argentina is Brazil's third largest trading partner, behind China and the United States, and Brazil is Argentina's top export market, he added.

For his part, Fernandez acknowledged that Argentina's economy is struggling under a heavy debt burden.

"When you are in trouble, you ask friends for help and your friends are always there. Brazil and Argentina were born to be permanently united. There is no chance of anything other than that happening," said Fernandez.