May 11 (Bloomberg) -- Argentine President Nestor Kirchner left the South American-Arab summit a day early, taking Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva by surprise, O Estado de S. Paulo newspaper reported.

Kirchner decided to leave the summit before its formal conclusion this morning, indicating he was satisfied with the progress made between the two groups of countries, the newspaper said, citing unidentified advisors to Kirchner.

The decision to leave irritated some Brazilian diplomats, Estado reported, though Marco Aurelio Garcia, foreign affairs special advisor for Brazil's presidency, said the episode was irrelevant and that Lula also had left events early.

During Kirchner's one-day stay in Brazil to attend the summit, he had dinner with Lula and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Estado said. Kirchner was able to persuade his counterparts to include a clause supporting Argentina's sovereignty over the Falkland islands, called Ilhas Mavinas in Argentina, in the summit's final statement, Estado said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Romina Nicaretta in Sao Paulo at at Rnicaretta@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 11, 2005 08:17 EDT