MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mujica praises “strong message” from the US; plans to invite Obama to Uruguay

Mujica is scheduled to meet with other leaders during the day.

Uruguayan president elect Jose Mujica will hold a meeting with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday morning, before the official inauguration, and will take advantage of her presence to invite US President Barack Obama to visit Uruguay.

According to a Montevideo weekly, with close links with Uruguay’s next president, the agenda includes bilateral and regional issues, and will also include at the meeting opposition parties’ leaders.

“Sending Mrs Clinton to the ceremony in Montevideo is a strong message from the United States and I am going to take advantage to invite Obama to Uruguay”, said Mujica.

Besides Mujica and opposition party leaders, Luis Alberto Lacalle, Pedro Bordaberry and Ivan Posada, at the meeting Mrs Clinton will be sitting at a table with Foreign Secretary Luis Almagro and the head of the General Assembly, Lucia Topolansky who also is the president-elect’s wife.

Hillary Clinton first visited Uruguay in 1998 when she was First Lady. According to her schedule she will only be staying in Uruguay Monday since Montevideo is the first leg of a five country visit that includes Chile, Brazil, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

The US Secretary of State will also be holding in Montevideo a private meeting with Argentine president Cristina Kirchner, according to Argentine ambassador in Washington Hector Timerman.

Mujica takes office Monday for a five year period, the second running for the left centre match-all coalition Broad Front.

Among the presidents confirmed for the ceremony are Argentina’s Mrs. Kirchner; Brazil’s Lula da Silva; Paraguay’s Fernando Lugo; Bolivia’s Evo Morales; Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez; Chile’s Michelle Bachelet and Ecuador’s Rafael Correa.

From Europe, according to Uruguay’s ceremonial office, the heir to the Spanish crown, Prince Phillip and Italy’s Deputy Foreign Affairs for Latinamerica minister Vicenzo Scotti, have been announced.