Representatives from the Union of South American Countries (Unasur) gathered Thursday for a two-day meeting on food security and hunger fight.

Experts and officials from nine South American countries, including the regional trade bloc's member states Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, participated in this 2nd Meeting on Food Security and Fight Against Hunger and Malnutrition.

Unasur "offers a venue and a basic consensus for outlining a joint global vision that would allow building an international policy on food," said Uruguay's Deputy Foreign Minister Roberto Conde.

The meeting enables the countries to share experiences, propose social development policies, design pilot projects for technical cooperation and define the concept of food sovereignty.

"In Uruguay, we define security and sovereignty as inseparable, united by (small-scale) family agriculture that provides 60 to 70 percent of the food consumed at homes," said Uruguay's Deputy Social Development Minister Lauro Melendez.

Leonel Briozzo, Uruguay's deputy public health minister who also addressed the meeting, said food and nutritional security needs to be included "in Latin America's progressive agenda, within the framework of a strategy for population and development, environmental sustainability and respect for human rights."

Unasur, which promotes regional integration, groups Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Paraguay's membership has been suspended since last June following the sudden ouster of then President Fernando Lugo,but will be resumed after the country's presidential elections next April.