MONTEVIDEO - Visiting Brazilian Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said Monday that South America must have a "single voice" on defense issues, among them a common defense industrial base.

It is necessary "to deepen the (defense) ties within South America," Jobim said after meeting Uruguayan President Jose Mujicam, adding that building a common defense industry base is at the core of Brazil's policy for regional integration.

The initiative would help boost regional technology and industry, and "give independence to all the nations on the Latin American continent," he said.