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 and Argentina are considered the regional leaders of South America. They are the two largest nations and the two largest economies in South America. These are the only South American countries that are members of the G-20 and Brazil, specially, as member of the BRICS. They're also the largest producers and exporters of agricultural products of the continent. The highest nominal GDP in 2017 is Brazil (8th worldwide) with 2,140,940 trillion dollars, followed by Argentina (21st worldwide) with 628,935 billion dollars, and Colombia (31st at the global level) with 306,439 billion dollars. The highest GDP in 2017 is in Brazil