Union of South American Nations Nelson Jobim, said in April 2008 that the Council would be formed after the "political" decision of the presidents who participated in the launch of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on 23 May 2008. On 15 December 2008, at the extraordinary UNASUR summit, the creation of the South American Defense Council was finally approved. The defense ministers of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. The Defense Council is responsible for developing joint defense policies, promoting the exchange of personnel among the Armed Forces of each country, conducting joint military exercises, participating
Union of South American Nations that the union would have on the world stage. The name was finally changed on 16 April 2007 to "Union of South American Nations". The new name was jointly agreed by all member states during the first day of meeting at the First South American Energy Summit, held at Isla Margarita, Venezuela. After Colombian Ernesto Samper completed his term as Secretary General in January 2017, the UNASUR governments have been unable to reach consensus on the organization's future leadership. Venezuela, with the support of Bolivia and Suriname, has blocked the nomination of Argentine diplomat José Octavio Bordón. In August 2017,