Maduro promotes Venezuela's economic role in Mercosur

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-5-10 13:30:35

Visiting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro stressed Venezuela's economic role and potential contribution to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) on Thursday during his first trip to Brazil after taking office.

Venezuela, which will take over Mercosur's rotating presidency next month, has grown significantly in the past 14 years thanks to its vast oil and gas reserves, Maduto said during talks with his Brazilian counterpart Dilma Rousseff at the presidential palace.

He said with the size of its economy expanding to over 350 billion US dollars, Venezuela managed to keep the unemployment rate under 7 percent, and invest heavily in social programs.

"We are a powerful market, a country with developing economic potential," said Maduro.

He also said he intend to use his current regional tour to strengthen Mercosur as a regional bloc and promote it as a regional model tailored to the current situation in the continent and around the world.

Mercosur groups Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, which was suspended from the bloc following the June 2012 parliamentary coup against then president Fernando Lugo.

Maduro arrived here Thursday on the last leg of his regional trip after Uruguay and Argentina.
Posted in: Americas

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