XXIX Meeting of Mercosur Ministers, held at the premises of Itaipu Binacional

25-11-23

Ministers and authorities of tourism of South American countries signed yesterday, Thursday 23rd, the "Foz do Iguaçu Charter", focused on the main goals of the sector for the region. Opening the borders for the free transit of people is one of the objectives.

The meeting brought together the Minister of Tourism of our country, Angelita Duarte, the Minister of Tourism of Uruguay, Tabaré Viera Duarte; the Undersecretary of Tourism of Chile, Verónica Pardo Lagos; the Consul of Argentina in Foz do Iguaçu, Alejandro Massucco and the Brazilian General Director of Itaipu, Enio Verri, among other authorities and representatives of the sector.

Brazilian minister Celso Sabino mentioned the experience of the European Union as an example to follow. "We want tourists to be able to enter our countries freely and travel unhindered. We know that there are obstacles to overcome in areas such as public safety and taxation, but we will work together so that borders are opened in the Mercosur bloc. That is the ultimate goal we want to achieve", he emphasized.

For her part, the Paraguayan Minister of Tourism pointed out that "it is necessary to stop seeing ourselves as competitors so that we can work as a team, selling the destination as a region, facilitating access to immigration procedures, having an important presence in international events, optimizing the costs of our countries and showing the world a region worth discovering".