President Luis Lacalle Pou and the minister of External relationships, Francisco Bustillo, met with four US legislators at the presidential residence in Anchorena, in Cologne to talk about “the state of bilateral relations and the economy”, with the possibility of a trade pact between the two countries in the style of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement).
In the meeting in which the ambassador of Montevideo in Washington, andres duranthe visiting delegation “highlighted the excellent conditions that Uruguay has as a country to invest”, as Bustillo recounted after the meeting with the senators Tim Kaine, Bob Menendez and bill hagerty, and the representative Tony Cardenas, whose South American tour also includes stops in Chili and Brazil. According to the foreign minister, it was an opportunity “for them to get to know the best of our country.”
Through a document, the delegation of USA had advanced the objective of the visit in which, in addition to discussing relations between the two countries, they hoped that it would be “part of the agenda to assess the state of democratic values in the region and highlight the role of Uruguay as an example of stability and democracy in the hemisphere”.
In this sense, and although Bustillo pointed out that no topics were discussed in depth, the shared lunch was an opportunity “so they could get to know the best of our country.”
“Basically what they cared about was get to know UruguayThey had all echoed the country we have, they had echoed the excellent relationship that exists between the United States and Uruguay, they had been great defenders of promoting an even better, deeper relationship between the two countries and it was a very good opportunity,” Bustillo explained.
He added that “what is behind these meetings is nothing other than deepen the relationship with the United States and particularly in commercial aspects”.
Who are the legislators who met with Lacalle Pou?
Menendez is the most prominent figure in the group of legislators. Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he is a valued voice on Washington’s diplomatic agenda. He was the one who, in December, led a project presented to the president Joe Biden for the United States to seal with Uruguay and Ecuador a NAFTA-style trade agreement that that country has with Mexico and Canada, with the aim of stopping the Chinese advance in Latin America. The legislator considers Uruguay a “trusted partner” in a region many times adverse to the White House.
Senator Tim Kaine, known worldwide for being the running mate of Hillary Clinton In his frustrated run for the Presidency, he has played an active role in strengthening US relations with Latin American governments. He was the ideologue of Washington’s military cooperation with the Colombia of ivan duke. In the middle of last year, he also defended a trade pact with Uruguay and, during the debate in the Senate, he did not spare praise for the country. He described it as a “success story” and stressed that “it is a model in many ways”. “Why not invest in these nations? If you are doing things right, the United States will be your ally,” she assured.
Representative Cárdenas has experience in trade and is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucusthe group of Latino legislators that watches over laws for that minority in the United States.
For his part, the only Republican in the entourage of US legislators, Bill Hagerty, has experience as a diplomat (he was ambassador to Japan during the government of donald trump) and leads his party’s efforts in the Senate to develop pragmatic diplomacy in Latin America in the face of Chinese influence.
Source: Ambito