The Mercosur-ASEAN Chamber of Commerce officially opened in theUruguayan capital of Montevideo on June 4 with the aim to promoteeconomic, trade, and investment cooperation between the two blocs.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Uruguayan Foreign Minister RodolfoNin Novoa appreciated the cooperation opportunities between members ofthe Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and the Association of SoutheastAsian Nations (ASEAN).

He noted that the ASEAN, with morethan 600 million inhabitants and a gross domestic product (GDP) of some2.3 trillion USD, is a potential market for exports from Mercosur,especially soybeans, rice and meat.

According to Novoa,the Chamber of Commerce Mercosur-ASEAN – which is headquartered inMontevideo – was created to promote trade relations and investmentbetween the nations of both blocs.

It is responsible forproviding information on business opportunities, facilitating theresolution of commercial disputes and working with governments inbusiness delegation exchange, he added

Offices inBrazil, Paraguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Indonesia, thePhilippines and Singapore will be established.

In July, abusiness delegation from Mercosur will travel to Vietnam, Indonesia,the Philippines and Singapore to promote trade and investmentcooperation.

Created in 1991, Mercosur is a sub-regionalbloc grouping Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela andParaguay.

Mercosur is currently the fifth worldeconomic power with a GDP of 3.3 trillion USD and representing 83percent of total GDP in South America.

Meanwhile,the ASEAN, established in 1967, consists of Malaysia, Indonesia,Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, thePhilippines and Vietnam.-VNA