Who we are

The Brasilia Consensus is a consensus-building mechanism, which aims to strengthen ties between the neighboring countries that make up South America, promote cooperation and project the voice of South America in the world. The mechanism is based on: dialogue and respect for the diversity of peoples, commitment to democracy, human rights, sustainable development, social justice, rule of law, institutional stability, defense of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs.

Meeting in Brasilia on May 30, 2023, the leaders of the 12 South American countries reaffirmed their commitment to re-establish a regular dialogue to foster regional integration. To this end, the Brasilia Consensus, adopted during the meeting, established a contact group led by the South American Foreign Ministers, charged with evaluating the experiences of the different regional cooperation mechanisms and establishing a Road Map to strengthen this dialogue and South American integration.

The roadmap that materializes the Brasilia Consensus:

In order to establish a new regional integration agenda, the presidents of the 12 South American countries met in Brazil on May 30 and adopted the Brasilia Consensus. On the basis of the commitments set forth therein, the South American foreign ministries drew up a roadmap that was approved by the heads of state and put into effect on October 6, 2023. The roadmap creates the Brasilia Consensus as an integration mechanism.

Objectives

The Brasilia Consensus is presented as a flexible body, without a venue, with a limited agenda and which will avoid duplicating the efforts of other forums, with the objective of establishing a regular dialogue to foster regional integration, promote cooperation and project South America's voice in the world.

Considering the challenges faced by South America, 17 topics have been included in the Roadmap of the Brasilia Consensus, in order to highlight the importance of regional integration, which must be part of the solutions to face the shared challenges in the construction of a peaceful world, prioritizing concrete initiatives that positively impact the living conditions of the populations of the States Parties, framed in the following prioritized topics or issues:

Prioritized issues

Considering the challenges facing South America and in compliance with the mandates of the South American leaders, the work of this mechanism focuses on the following topics:

Climate Change
Combating Transnational Organized Crime
Trade and Investment
Digital Connectivity
Cross-Border Cooperation
Defense
Social Development
Education and Culture
Energy
Financing for Development
Genre
Natural Disaster Risk Management
Infrastructure and Transportation
Productive Integration
Migration
Health
Food Safety

Roadmap for the Integration of South America

October 5, 2023Brasilia Consensus

1.

Meeting in Brasilia on May 30, 2023, the leaders of the 12 South American countries reaffirmed their commitment to reestablish a regular dialogue to foster regional integration, promote cooperation and project South America's voice in the world. To this end, the Brasilia Consensus, adopted during the meeting, established a contact group led by the South American Ministers of Foreign Affairs, charged with evaluating the experiences of the different regional cooperation mechanisms and establishing a Road Map to strengthen this dialogue and South American integration.

With a view to achieving this objective, several meetings were held among the 12 countries to identify priority areas for work and cooperation. The exchanges also addressed possible formats for promoting regular dialogue between the parties.

2.

3.

In terms of specific areas, considering the challenges facing South America and in compliance with the mandate of the South American leaders, the issues that were identified as the initial focus of attention are the following (in alphabetical order):

Climate Change
Combating Transactional Organized Crime
Trade and Investment
Digital Connectivity
Cross-Border Cooperation
Defense
Social Development
Education and Culture
Energy

Financing for Development
Genre
Natural Disaster Risk Management
Infrastructure and Transportation
Productive Integration
Migration
Health
Food Safety

4.

In light of the principles and guidelines outlined in the Brasilia Consensus and in order to present a limited agenda, it was agreed to prioritize concrete initiatives with a positive impact on the living conditions of the populations and that do not duplicate efforts already underway in other international or regional mechanisms in which the South American States participate, in order to actively contribute to the follow-up and consolidation of these initiatives.

4.

5.

A mapping exercise was carried out on how these issues have been addressed by the different regional organizations, which is included in Annex I.

6.

On the other hand, and taking into account the interest in continuing to strengthen the dialogue in specific areas, in order to help identify concrete actions of mutual interest, the following preliminary calendar of sectoral meetings is proposed.

7.

The possibility of taking advantage of regional or extra-regional events to strengthen the South American dialogue and continue discussing the implementation of the Brasilia Consensus is also being explored. An indicative list of the spaces that could be used for this purpose is included as Annex II.

8.

In order to promote the regular dialogue among the States referred to in point 6 of the Brasilia Consensus, a flexible and agile mechanism is proposed that does not imply the creation of new rigid institutional structures or permanent bodies.

9.

To allow adequate follow-up of the initiatives to be agreed upon and to facilitate the identification of new areas of common interest, the implementation of the Brasilia Consensus could take place under the following format:

Regular strategic dialogues between Heads of State and Government

The Heads of State and Government will meet at least once a year. With the objective of fostering open and frank interactions on key issues for the region and common challenges, in order to establish priorities and guidelines for deepening the process of regional integration and cooperation, informal retreat-style meetings will be sought.

Regular Meetings of Ministers of Foreign Affairs

The South American Foreign Ministers will meet twice a year on a regular basis and as many additional times as they deem necessary to evaluate the progress of integration and regional cooperation and the status of the implementation of the mandates conferred by the leaders in their annual strategic dialogues.

National Coordinators

Each country will designate a national coordinator and an alternate national coordinator, who will act as focal points in the Ministries of Foreign Affairs to facilitate the monitoring of the process and the preparation of the meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. The national coordinators and alternates will hold regular meetings, including through virtual means of communication.

Rotating Chairmanships

Each country will coordinate the process for a rotating period of six months to facilitate the management of the regular dialogue at the regional level and the progress of sectoral initiatives.
The rotating presidency will coordinate with the successor country to facilitate the follow-up of initiatives and the holding of meetings. The two annual presidencies will co-chair the presidential strategic dialogues organized during the period.
The rotation of the chairmanships will follow the alphabetical order in the Spanish language.
If a country, motu proprio, considers that it is not in a position to assume the rotating presidency, it may exchange its turn with the successor countries, following the alphabetical order in the Spanish language, provided that the parties agree.
At the end of each rotating presidency, the country holding that function shall prepare an executive report on the progress of the South American dialogue integration process during that period.

Contact Networks

In order to intensify the regional dialogue on the topics indicated by the Presidents as priorities and to facilitate the identification of concrete initiatives, thematic focal points will be designated to promote the regular exchange of experiences. If necessary, as determined by each sector, high-level ministerial meetings may be held for discussions on matters of common interest.

Cooperation with regional and extra-regional technical institutions

Whenever relevant, South American countries may invite South American, Latin American and Caribbean, extra-regional and global institutions to participate in specific meetings to support the implementation of projects and initiatives of common interest.

Extra-regional Dialogues

Cooperation and dialogue with extra-regional partners in South America will be encouraged.

Informal Meetings

In order to reinforce initiatives of common interest and strengthen South America's voice in intergovernmental forums, we will seek to take advantage of international meetings to establish coordination with a view to, if possible, articulating a common position and projecting South America in global issues.

Decision Making Process

Decisions or statements shall be adopted by consensus.