Brasília, December 6, 2002 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - In a speech to heads of state and government at the Mercosur Summit meeting today, at the Itamaraty Palace, the president of Chile, Ricardo Lagos, greeted president Fernando Henrique Cardoso and affirmed that "since '95, when the Brazilian president took office, the Mercosul has made great progress." Lagos recalled that in the '60's he and Cardoso, as academics, defended theories in favor of the integration of South American countries, without ever imagining that in the future they would be together discussing this integration.

The president of Argentina, Eduardo Duhalde, recalled that this is the last Mercosur meeting in which he and president Cardoso will participate as presidents. The president of Bolivia, Gonzalo de Lozada, acknowledged the Mercosur's trade advances but called for greater integration among bloc members in the health field. (DAS)