Peruvian ministers openly disagreed over the recent decision to turn back the Royal Navy’s HMS Montrose, in solidarity with Argentina and its sovereignty claims over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands.
President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno urged Latin America and Caribbean governments to learn from and replicate successful experiences in the prevention of crime and violence in the region.
During a live press conference on Tuesday, Argentine President Cristina Fernández thanked “the Peruvian government and population” for their decision to leave without effect the scheduled, but controversial, visit of a British frigate “in support of the Argentine sovereignty claim over the Malvinas Islands.”
Peruvian Foreign Affairs minister Rafael Roncagliolo denied President Ollanta Humala had accepted an invitation to visit London next month, Lima’s El Comercio reported Tuesday in the front page.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica promised on Monday to ‘fight to the death’ for the future of Mercosur in spite of the fact that the group’s junior members Uruguay and Paraguay are suffering the most as Argentina and Brazil implement growing hurdles to trade.
The World Bank’s new Latin America chief backed selective use of capital controls when inflows were creating asset bubbles or distorting foreign exchange markets. Hasan Tuluy, the Bank’s new vice-president for Latin America and the Caribbean, said while trade protectionism should be avoided, there was space for macro prudential measures.
Brazil is Latin America’s fastest-growing travel and tourism economy and direct contribution to GDP is forecast to grow at 7.8% in 2012.
In a display of “Latin American support for Argentina’s legitimate rights,” the Peruvian government announced on Monday its decision to render void the protocol visit of a British frigate scheduled to dock in a Peruvian port this week.
Colombia has consistently supported Bolivia in its mission to reclaim a passage to the Pacific Ocean and the country reiterated its support last week during a meeting between the two heads of state in Bogotá.
China and the Inter-American Development Bank said on Monday they are starting a 1-billion US dollars fund to invest in Latin America, though the Asian giant’s latest push to expand its influence in the region prompted words of caution from Brazil.