BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazil on Thursday officially returned to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which it had left during the administration of former President Jair Bolsonaro, the Argentine Foreign Ministry announced.
Brazilian Ambassador to Argentina Reinaldo Jose de Almeida Salgado handed Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero a formal letter of return since it holds the regional bloc's pro tempore presidency.
"Thus, Brazil returns to CELAC after former President Jair Bolsonaro suspended its participation on Jan. 16, 2020. Now, with this formalization, CELAC once again has its 33 members," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two diplomats also discussed Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's official visit to Argentina on Jan. 23, where he will hold a bilateral meeting with his Argentine counterpart Alberto Fernandez and participate in CELAC's seventh Summit of Heads of State and Government.
CELAC was created in 2010 to advance regional integration and balance unity with the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of its more than 600 million inhabitants. ■
