Asunción, Agencia IP.- On the 33rd anniversary of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), President Santiago Peña, who currently holds the Pro Tempore Presidency of the bloc, expressed that they will continue strengthening regional integration and overcoming challenges to achieve sustainable development for the nations.
In a video shared on his social media channels, the Head of State claimed: «From the Pro Tempore Presidency, we send warm greetings to all citizens of Mercosur. Together, we will continue working to strengthen our regional integration and overcome challenges to achieve sustainable development for our people.»
He highlighted that on a day like today, March 26, but in 1991, a transcendental historic moment took place at the Central Bank of Paraguay headquarters in Asunción. «That morning, the presidents of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay signed the Treaty of Asunción, giving birth to the Common Market of the South (Mercosur),» he said.
The Paraguayan president stated that Mercosur faces the new challenges of the current world today, and «the experience of more than three decades allows us to have a pragmatic vision, with the ability to define which aspects to prioritize and which need correction.»
The Treaty of Asunción outlined the fundamental principles of Mercosur, which aimed to promote the free movement of goods, services, and productive factors among member countries, establish a customs union, and coordinate macroeconomic policies.
Over these three decades, Mercosur has created permanent bodies to implement its regional policies better.
The first permanent body, based in Montevideo, is the Permanent Representatives Commission of Mercosur. There is also the Mercosur Secretariat in the same city, the Mercosur Social Institute, the Permanent Review Tribunal, both based in Paraguay, the Institute of Public Policies on Human Rights in Buenos Aires, and the Mercosur Parliament (Parlasur) in Uruguay.
On the other hand, they have incorporated their solidarity financing mechanisms, such as the Structural Convergence Fund of Mercosur (Focem), through which they could financially assist more than 50 projects presented by the countries.