Brasilia - During their summit yesterday here in Brasilia, presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Néstor Kirchner and Hugo Chávez discussed the possibility of creating a development bank for South America.

According to Chávez, the institution could be called the South Bank, or Bank of the South (Banco do Sul), and would finance social and economic projects in the region. "It would be another step toward the independence we want so much", affirmed the Venezuelan leader. In a joint declaration, the presidents of Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela ordered their economic area ministers to study the proposal.

The Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Celso Amorim, declared that the idea of a South American financial institutrion was undoubtedly a good one. "We are engaged in a large number of important infrastructure projects throughout South America that need financial support," he said, adding that work would begin on the details immediately.

Translation: Allen Bennett