Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his visiting Argentine counterpart Cristina Kirchner agreed Friday to strengthen relations between the two countries.

According to the two presidents, who attended in Sao Paulo the ending ceremony of a seminar on business opportunities between Brazil and Argentina, a stronger alliance is the only way for them to overcome the international financial crisis.

The two leaders decided to minimize the dispute over the Argentine government's decision to restrict the imports of some Brazilian products since the beginning of the year.

Lula said the matter is not unsolvable and should not compromise the decision of expanding the bilateral trade.

Kirchner also agreed that the differences must be put aside.

Lula also criticized financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for their bias on emerging economies.

Those organizations were created with the idea that problems would only take place in emerging countries, Lula said.

He added that the IMF and the World Bank's resources are not enough to save the world from the international financial crisis.

The Brazilian president stressed the importance of the upcomingG20 meeting in London, saying that the emerging countries would arrive for the first time at a meeting with better economic situations and "more moral authority" than the developed world.

Source: Xinhua