April 17, 2007
UNASUR means union of South American nations

(Mathaba News) - "UNASUR has been the name given by the presidents of South American nations to the integration process underway in a dozen countries of the region, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

'We decided to call it UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations, a tremendous concept,' Hugo Chávez told journalists at the end of a political dialogue with his colleagues in Venezuela for the First South American Energy Summit.

President Chávez said that it was also agreed that UNASUR would have a permanent secretariat headquartered in Quito, Ecuador and he added that the presidents had debated in depth and that there was consensus among them, Granma daily reported.

One of the topics discussed was the need to reach a South American Energy Treaty that would guarantee all the countries of South America energy, oil, gas and petrochemical products. 'This is very important because the world is advancing towards an energy crisis,' said Chávez".