Buenos Aires, July 15 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Bolivian President Evo Morales' meeting with his Argentinean counterpart Cristina Fernandez on Wednesday will focus not only on bilateral agreements between the two nations, but also South America's independence history, Cuban news agency Prensa Latina reported.
 

The two South American leaders will inaugurate a monument to independence heroine and South American guerrilla military leader Juana Azurduy.

The 52-foot bronze statue that Bolivia donated to Argentina has been erected outside the presidential palace in Buenos Aires in the place a monument to Christopher Columbus once stood.

Festivities throughout the week will celebrate the monument's inauguration as a symbol of Patria Grande, a term used in Latin America to refer to the integration process in the region.

Sculptor Andres Zerneri, who began working on the statue three years ago with the help of a team of 45 assistants, said Azurduy led battles that were fundamental for South American independence and her legacy is part of the longstanding regional defense of Patria Grande.

Morales and Fernandez will also strengthen bilateral ties with the signing of various agreements, including energy integration deals laying the foundation to build an electrical line connecting Yaguaca in southern Bolivia to Tartagal in northern Argentina.

Official sources have said the meeting reinforces the relationship between the two South American nations linked by trade, political ties, and Bolivian immigration to Argentina.

After concluding talks in Argentina, both Morales and Fernandez will travel to Brazil for a summit of the regional organization Mercosur, in which Bolivia could be welcomed as a full member of the bloc.