Buenos Aires, March 21 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) Argentina’s Economy Minister, Felisa Miceli, left for Ecuador Tuesday to discuss the creation of the proposed Bank of the South.
The Bank of the South (BS) is regarded by several South American countries as a fair chance for underdeveloped countries to achieve financial independence from international bodies such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The Bank, according to its promoters, will be able to assimilate part of its members' hard currency reserves now stored in the United States and Europe and finance infrastructure projects in the region.
The project, devised by Venezuela and Argentina, was joined later by Bolivia, Ecuador and Brazil.
The Bank will begin operations with ten per cent of the international reserves of Argentina and Venezuela, some seven billion USD.
At the Inter-American Development Bank annual meeting in Guatemala recently, Miceli discussed the project with Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela and arranged a technical meeting on Friday in Buenos Aires.
Argentine President Nestor Kirchner recently called the Bank a significant step in the process of integration and instrument to finance strategic projects.