Weekly Report - 20 January 2004

After having successfully acted in tandem in Monterrey, Brazil and Argentina have decided to take their foreign-policy partnership a step further. In an unprecedented move, Brazil has offered to incorporate an Argentine diplomat to its team when it becomes a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, and Argentina will reciprocate when it is its turn. For now they are jointly engaging on a campaign to `prevent the isolation' of any South American country - code for opposing any attempt to ostracise Venezuela.