"We are proud to welcome you tonight in our House of Government. The Town Hall was in this place for several centuries and, in 1908, it was decided to build this building as the headquarters of the House of Government, known in the province as the Grey House. We are a province closely linked to regional integration. Santa Fe has been very close to the integration processes of South America and especially this region," Said Lifschitz.
"When Santa Fe was chosen as venue for this summit, we did not know that it would happen within days of the agreement with the European Union. This immediately attains great significance, turns this summit into a historic meeting and represents an agreement of enormous challenge to Mercosur. Santa Fe is a province that has a lot to win with this agreement, perhaps it is one of the Argentine provinces with the most possibilities and opportunities and we are committed to taking advantage of them."
"I would like to ask you to re-consider the Forum of Intendents and Governors of Mercosur as a consultative space that will allow you to hear the voice of subnational governments, that we can play a very important role in the integration process. Thank you for your presence, I welcome each of you as citizens of Santa Fe," the governor concluded.
On his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina, Jorge Faurie, thanked the governor for the entertainment of that night and his commitment to organize the Summit. “We have a great opportunity to organize our tasks and our economies. We are happy this can happen", concluded Faurie.
ATTENDEES
Other authorities that participated in the reception were the following: on behalf of the Argentine government, the Minister of Production and Labour of the Nation, Dante Sica; the Secretary of International Economic Affairs, Horacio Reyser; the Secretary of Foreign Coordination and Planning, Ernesto Gaspari; the national members of parliament Cornelia Schmidt Liermann, María Lucila Lehmann and Graciela Ocaña; Argentine Ambassador to Uruguay, Mario Barletta. The Minister of Government and State Reform of the province of Santa Fe, Pablo Farías; and the Secretary of International Affairs and Integration, Maria Julia Reyna.
On behalf of the government of Brazil: Chancellor Ernesto Fraga Araújo; the Minister of Economy, Paulo Nunes Guedes; Deputy Minister of Economy, Marcos Troyjo; and the national coordinator of the Common Market Group, Pedro Miguel Da Costa E Silva.
The representatives of the government of Paraguay were the following: Chancellor Luis Alberto Castiglioni Soria; the Ministers of Finance, Benigno López; and Industry and Commerce, Liz Cramer Campos; and the coordinator of the Common Market Group, Juan Angel Delgadillo.
In the case of Uruguay, the representatives were Chancellor Rodolfo Nin Novoa; the Ministers of Finance and Economy, Danilo Astori; and Industry, Energy and Mining, Guillermo Moncecchi; and the coordinator of the Common Market Group, Valeria Csukasi.
Chancellor Diego Pary Rodríguez and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade Benjamin Blanco Perri were the representatives of Bolivia.
Other participants were the Director of Concertation Mechanisms and Regional Integration of Colombia, Adela Maestre Cuello; Ecuadorian Ambassador to Argentina, Fernando Yépez-Lasso; Guyana's Chancellor Karen Cumminis; Surinamese Ambassador to Cuba, Marciano Armaketo; Mexican Ambassador to Argentina, Oscar Recio Becerra; the Secretary General of the Latin American Association (ALADI), Alejandro de la Peña Navarrete.
There were also special guests such as the director of the International Development Bank, Pablo García; the President of Parlasur, Daniel Caggiani; the president of the Financial Fund for the Development of the Cuenca del Plata, Juan Notaro; the executive secretary of the Mercosur Institute of Public Policy in Human Rights, Juan Miguel González Bibolini; the executive director of the Mercosur Social Institute, José Felcio; the representative of Argentina to the Mercosur Permanent Representatives Committee, Mauricio Devoto; the mayor of the city of Santa Fe, José Corral.
