Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos will represent Colombia at the 38th Mercosur Presidential Summit in Uruguay on Tuesday.
Mercosur is a regional trade agreement between Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia.
The presidents of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay are expected to attend the summit, as well as Uruguay’s president-elect Jose Mujica.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will also attend. Venezuela is in the process of joining the trade bloc.
Colombia’s attendance was thrown into doubt when Venezuela announced that it would be present. High-ranking Colombian officials recently declined to attend another regional meeting, in which members discussed the Andean nation’s military pact with the U.S.
The pact sparked tensions in the region, particularly with Venezuela, who sees the agreement as a threat to its sovereignty.
