The global financial crisis represents an opportunity to strengthen regional integration and make Latin America play a leading role in the world, Peru’s Foreign Minister Rafael Roncagliolo said Monday.

"I think that the crisis we are facing today, paradoxically, can be an opportunity to strengthen regional integration in a pragmatic way, because we did not cause this crisis," he stated.

Roncagliolo noted that Peru seeks to contribute to "the construction of this Latin American unity, with the aim of making the region a great power."

The minister explained that Peru has proposed to hold a series of meetings within the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) in order to agree on joint measures to shield the region against the global economic crisis.

"There have been two meetings with Unasur, one with the finance ministers and the other with the presidents of the central banks to discuss ways to face this emerging crisis together," he said in an interview with Panamericana Televisión.

Roncagliolo recalled that countries have diversified trade, placing strong emphasis on interregional trade, with added value and greater participation of small and medium enterprises.

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