Regional Economy and Politics, Topics for Discussion at the Uruguay-US Meeting

Montevideo, November 8 (EFE). Regional economy and politics were among the issues up for discussion at Monday’s meeting of Uruguay’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Bustillo, and US Under Secretary of State, Wendy Sherman. .

According to information provided by the Uruguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the head of diplomacy expressed to his interlocutor his “aspiration” to “deepen economic and trade relations” to facilitate “greater access” for exports from the South American country to the United States.

For her part, Democratic Administration Representative Joe Biden announced, according to the statement, her country’s “full readiness to deepen the possibilities of enhancing trade and investment,” particularly through the current Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA).

The State Department stated that Bustillo and Sherman held a “private meeting” before heading to a meeting “with relevant task forces, where important issues on the bilateral, regional and international agenda were reviewed.”

In that talk, Uruguay expressed appreciation for the “renewal of the United States’ commitment to multilateralism and its return as a member of various international organizations,” while highlighting since the North American visit to “Uruguay’s participation in United Nations peace operations.”

In addition to stressing the “values and principles” that unite the two countries, such as “democracy, the rule of law, pluralism, and the protection of human rights,” the “interlocutors” exchanged views on various aspects of regional and international news, according to the statement.

Sherman began a two-day visit to Uruguay on Monday, where, in addition to political meetings, he will have a marked social and economic agenda.

According to sources from the US Embassy in Uruguay who confirmed to Efe, that this Monday he will gather two round tables with representatives of the renewable energy sector and young students.

In addition, the number two in US diplomacy will meet with the Minister of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbelchi, and hold a meeting with representatives of NGOs working with refugees and migrants in Uruguay.

According to the same source, the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Poe, will receive Sherman on Tuesday, and will later meet with Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber.

After visiting Uruguay, the undersecretary will travel to Peru, among others, to analyze “increasing bilateral opportunities for inclusive trade and investment,” according to the statement from the State Department.

Sherman, a social worker by training, has been part of previous Democratic administrations of the United States: between 2011 and 2015, during Barack Obama’s presidency, she was Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs; Between 1993 and 1996, first, and 1997 and 2001, later, he held related advisory positions in Bill Clinton’s governments. EFE

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