MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian Authority signed a free trade agreement on Tuesday with South American trading bloc Mercosur.

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki signed the deal in Montevideo as Palestinian Authority representative and thanked Mercosur, composed of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, for recognizing Palestine as an independent nation, MercoPress reported.

The free trade agreement has been negotiated for the past year and represents the first such deal between Palestine and a bloc of nations outside of the Middle East.

Mercosur countries and Venezuela, who has been aiming for full status in the trade bloc for years, all recognized the Palestinian state over the past year.

Al-Malki said on Monday he hoped Mercosur countries could help "end the suffering" of the Palestinians and help them reach a peace agreement.

Ron Gerstenfeld, business attache in Israel's Montevideo embassy, said that the agreement was not the "best way to promote peace" in the Middle East, MercoPress reported.