BRAZILIAN President Luiz Inacio “Lula” da Silva welcomed his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro back to the country today for the first time since a ban by his far-right predecessor.

The two left-wing leaders were expected to discuss co-operation in trade and energy, with Lula suggesting he might consider floating the idea of a regional currency to challenge the US dollar.

Today’s meeting in Brasilia brought together 11 South American presidents and the leader of the Council of Ministers of Peru.