President Luis Lacalle Pou will travel this Saturday to China within the framework of an important official mission in which he will try to deepen economic and diplomatic relations with the Asian giant, the country’s main trading partner. Uruguay.
The strategic trip includes a busy agenda that includes a meeting between Lacalle Pou and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, with maximum objectives such as advancing the signing of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and other issues linked to particular areas.
In this second group appear the renegotiation of the protocols of export, the opening of a new market for different products and the meetings between businessmen from both countries, with several dozen Uruguayan representatives in the official delegation.
The meeting with Xi and the expectation for the FTA
Lacalle Pou He will remain in the Asian giant between this Saturday and the following, a week in which he will hold several meetings. Without a doubt, the one that can result in greater definitions is the one that he will maintain with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
The expectation is that the presidents will talk about the lengthy negotiations for the FTA between both countries, which were largely frustrated by the conditions of Mercosur and the agreement with the European Union which remains unsigned.
In recent days, the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Fernando Mattos, He admitted that “it is one of the most important official missions that the president will carry out” and was optimistic about being able to “raise the degree of relationship with China to a comprehensive strategic alliance relationship, as they call it.”
Give a new boost to exports
The idea of Executive is to strengthen the presence in different sectors, hence the importance of the president being accompanied by a delegation of businessmen. However, the vast majority of eyes will be on the agricultural sector, with the placements of meat, soy and milk.
It is worth remembering that the export price of the beef fell in October to its lowest value of the year, after five consecutive declines and after a year in which sales of the product to that country fell, as did what happened with the soy, mainly due to the drought.
Added to this combo is the drop in demand for milk powder by 2024 product of which China is the main buyer. With all this in mind and an improving economy in the Asian giant, the objective of the official mission is to continue oiling the relationship.
The objective of renegotiating export protocols
One of the goals pursued by the official mission is to advance in the renegotiation of the protocols of meat export bovine and ovine, something that has not happened for 5 years.
The Uruguayan objective is to reduce the waiting period for livestock in agricultural establishments from 90 to 46 days, before being sent to slaughter for sale abroad. In turn, the minister Mattos He highlighted that the negotiation “has a new edition with the incorporation of another product such as bovine stomachs.”
The approval of agreements to export more products
The government’s strategy also includes the approval of protocols for other goods, such as lemons, sport horses and live aquatic products, at a time when Uruguayan companies have already begun to export sorghum.
From the MGAP They specified that in total there are 10 agreements and, if they manage to seal them, they will represent better conditions of access for national goods to China. In turn, they detailed that, after the signature, they will be immediately applicable, quickly having an impact on the marketing of the implicit products.
Investment in renewable energy
The possibility of the Chinese government investing in renewable energy in the country is another aspect that stands out on the Uruguayan agenda. The chancellor and former minister of Industry, Energy and Mining (MIEM), Omar Paganini, Weeks ago, he held meetings with several leaders about the future opportunity to import green hydrogen.
Paganini highlighted at that time that “being a country with a renewable energy matrix, we believe that we can play a complementary role with China in the decarbonization of the global economy.” He even stated that “Uruguay has the will to advance the relationship with China, especially in the areas of technology, innovation and artificial intelligence.”
Source: Ambito
