Venezuelan Vice Minister for Latin American Affairs Pável Rondón called "mainstay" a gas pipeline intended to link South America, resulting in development of nearby communities.

"In addition to energy supply, the project will entail the social issue as mainstay, as it will help development and better quality of life in neighboring communities,"  Rondón mentioned in a press release.

The pipeline is to go from the southern cities of Puerto Ordaz and Santa Elena de Uairén, on the border with Brazil, to Brazilian Manaus in Amazon. From there, it will split into two branches -one to the Brazilian Northeast and another to Brasilia.

The latter branch will go then to Río de Janeiro and forward to Uruguay and Argentina.

Venezuelan Minister of Energy Rafael Ramírez, his Brazilian counterpart Silas Rondeau, and Argentinean Minister of Planning Julio de Vido are expected to brief on the outcome of a two-day meeting behind closed doors in Caracas to explore the strategies for laying and other details of the Southern gas pipeline.