BRASILIA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will meet his Venezuela's counterpart Hugo Chavez in Recife, in the north-east of Brazilian March 26, the two leaders decided at a phone talk on Wednesday.

    During their phone conversation, Lula congratulated Chavez for his participation in the summit of the Group of Rio, which was held to discuss conflict caused by Colombian government forces' raid on Ecuadorian soil on Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.

    Lula considered that the mediation of Chavez during the summit held in Santo Domingo as "fundamental" to end the crisis, confirmed a spokesperson of the Brazilian Presidency.

    The two presidents also discussed necessity to strengthen the integration process in Latin America to minimize political differences and promote economic development.

    They decided to meet later this month in Recife where state-owned petroleum companies Petrobras and PDVSA will construct a joint refinery.