BRASILIA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Brazil and Argentina signed a memorandum of understanding for an open skies agreement to expand flights between the two South American countries, ending weekly limits on scheduled passenger flights and facilitating cargo flights, Brazil's Foreign Affairs Ministry said Wednesday.

The agreement, signed within the framework of meetings between Brazil's National Civil Aviation Agency and Argentina's National Civil Aviation Administration, took place on March 6 and 7.

"With the signing of the instrument, Brazilian and Argentine airlines will be able to freely determine the number of passenger flights they wish to offer between the two countries. Until now, companies on each side were limited to offering a maximum of 170 weekly flights, according to the regulations of each country," said the ministry.

"The measure will give more flexibility to companies to plan their operations and could lead to an increase in the offer of services and greater competition on the routes that link Brazil and Argentina," it said.

The memorandum also expands the permit for cargo service operations, allowing airlines from both countries to carry out international cargo transportation without requiring the operation to begin or end in the company's country of origin.

In addition to this agreement with Argentina, Brazil recently negotiated similar rights for shipping cargo in the region with Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Enditem

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