Lula hosts first South American summit in 9 years, welcomes Venezuela's Maduro amid push for regional unity

Lula criticized US sanctions on Venezuela and called for friendlier relations between countries.
Maduro attended the summit at Lula's invitation, marking his first visit to Brazil since 2015.
Lula proposed greater economic, cultural and social integration between South American countries.
Lula suggested regional development banks work together and coordinated climate change action.
Lula proposed a regional energy market and reduced dependence on non-regional currencies to boost trade.