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RIO DE JANEIRO. — Latin American countries and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) on Thursday expressed concern over US president Donald Trump’s decision to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

“Most countries in Latin America maintain close friendly ties with the people of the United States. Because of that, the Brazilian government is concerned about the idea of building a wall to separate sister nations on our continent, without a consensus between them,” the Brazilian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also encouraged such matters to be resolved through dialogue instead of isolationist measures.

“Brazil has always worked with the firm belief that matters between friendly peoples, as is the case with the United States and Mexico, should be resolved through dialogue and the construction of spaces of understanding,” the government said.

Bolivian president Evo Morales on Thursday called on embattled Mexico to look southward and help strengthen Latin American integration.

“I call on our Mexican brothers to look more towards the south, to jointly build unity based on our (shared) Latin American and Caribbean heritage,” Morales posted on Twitter.

The message comes just hours after Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled an upcoming meeting with his US counterpart amid a bilateral dispute over the latter’s decision to erect a wall along the US-Mexican border.

After months of pledging to erect a wall between the United States and Mexico, Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to “build a large physical barrier on the southern border.” — Xinhua.