Peru's President Alejandro Toledo, left, gives a speech at the opening of South American Summit, in Cusco, Peru, Dec. 8. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    CUSCO, Peru, Dec. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo said on Wednesday the newly created South American Community of Nations (CSN) would help confront the challenges of globalization.

    Toledo told the third Summit of South American Presidents in the ancient Inca capital that the birth of the CSN is an historic event and that the integration dreamed of 180 years ago by South American independence hero Simon Bolivar has come true.

    "Today we have a new country with 360 million inhabitants," Toledo said in welcoming seven presidents to the summit in the Inca sun temple of Koricancha.

    According to Toledo, the CSN covers a territory of 17 million square km, with a gross domestic product of nearly 1 trillion US dollars.

    The seven presidents are Carlos Mesa of Bolivia, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, Ricardo Lagos of Chile, Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana, Ronald Venetiaan of Surinam, and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.

    Presidents of Argentina, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay did not attend the summit and instead sent their foreign ministers as representatives, which raised doubts among critics of the new organization. Enditem