Speaking at the 54th Summit of the Presidents of Mercosur, in the Argentine city of Santa Fe, President Mauricio Macri hailed the historic trade agreement with the European Union “the result of the collective endeavours” of the South American bloc, made possible by “the vocation and commitment of everyone, at the very highest level.” 

“We should be proud of our sustained pursuit of this goal. We showed the tenacity that state policies require, policies that exceed individual governments, policies that design our future,” he said during his speech at the Belgrano Station Convention Centre.

The agreement signed in Brussels at the end of June during Argentina’s Pro Tempore presidency of Mercosur represents “a clear signal to the world that we want Mercosur to be an open, competitive and dynamic bloc, committed to integration, trade and clear rules for investment and doing business,” Macri continued. 

“It will allow us to strengthen trade and investment with the most important economic bloc in the world, one that is also a leading partner for all Mercosur member countries. Above all, the agreement will have a positive impact on the quality of life of our people,” he added, describing Mercosur as a “space to promote and protect our democratic values and freedom, as well as our commitments to high quality institutions, and the fight against corruption and organized crime.”

On the current situation in Venezuela, he said: “I want to express, once again, my solidarity with the Venezuelan people, who are suffering an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in our region.”

“We recognize the National Assembly and Interim President Guaidó as the only legitimate authority in Venezuela, and we demand Maduro stop obstructing the democratic transition and cease violating the human rights of Venezuelans,” he added.

Macri continued: "When I became President of Argentina three and a half years ago, I invited you to work together to consolidate Mercosur, convinced of its strategic importance to strengthen economic and trade relations with the world, helping us to grow and reduce inequalities in our region.”

“The agreement we reached with the European Union is not the finishing line, it is the starting point; it represents an opportunity for Mercosur to keep pushing our ambitious external agenda forward.”

“We are going to increase our ongoing negotiations, and develop new ones that generate global value chains. We want to give more opportunities to our companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs,” he said. 

Alluding to greater consolidation and modernization of the South American trading bloc, President Macri spoke of “our urgent agenda of competitiveness that will bring Mercosur into the twenty-first century and enable it to fully benefit” from these modernizing measures.

He urged his peers in the bloc to “continue to make progress in convergence with the Pacific Alliance, as this will allow us to build a more productive region, with coasts on two oceans, helping it become one of the most dynamic hubs for growth in the world.”

Before handing over the six-month Pro Tempore presidency of Mercosur to President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Macri referred to other important steps made during Argentina’s leadership of the bloc, namely the agreement for local fees to be charged for roaming services.

This measure will “simplify communications for those who travel within the region and for those who live in frontier areas”, which will mean “greater and better connectivity, a key factor in today’s digital age.”

Finally, the presidents of Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay also took the opportunity to sign the protocol officially adding Chile to their joint bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

At the summit, President Macri was accompanied by Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie; Production and Labour Minister Dante Sica; Finance Minister Nicolás Dujovne; Interior Minister Rogelio Frigerio; Deputy Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers and Modernization Secretary Andrés Ibarra, and Secretary General Fernando de Andreis, amongst other senior officials.

Official materials from the summit

Official summit communications and declarations are available at the following links:

https://cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/prensa/comunicado_estados_partes_y_asociados-final.pdf

https://cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/prensa/declaracion_indigenas_es.pdf

https://cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/prensa/declaracion_democracia_es_1.pdf

https://cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/prensa/declaracion_sobre_sitacion_de_venezuela.pdf

https://cancilleria.gob.ar/userfiles/prensa/declaracion_terrorismo_-_amia-es.pdf