MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan President Visit Argentina

After meet Pte. Kirchner, Pte. Vazquez spoke at a lunch for 480 people at the Sheraton Hotel, where he is staying while in Argentina.

Argentine Vice-President Daniel Scioli and Cabinet-Chief Alberto Fernández where among the guests.

The lunch was jointly organized by the Inter-American Council for Trade and Production and the Argentine-Uruguayan Chamber of Commerce.

Vázquez said his government currently strongly supporters Mercosur and stated that in his country there is no discrimination between local and foreign investors.

During the speech, the Uruguayan president said that his country is about to sign an agreement with the IMF establishing a primary surplus between 3.5 and 4 per cent until 2007.

About his administration, he said it is going "toward a national productive development project, which is an authentic country strategy." He also spoke in favour of economic growth with better wealth distribution.

"If development isn't balanced, it isn't development at all," he said.

"We want more and better Mercosur," he said about the regional economic bloc. Uruguayan Economy Minister Danilo Astori, also at the meeting, added to the issue by saying that Uruguay's foreign policy is to "strengthen the Mercosur and to deal as a bloc with the European Union, the US, Japan and China and work to have a single Latin American voice."

Regional affairs were reportedly at the top of the meeting between Kirchner and Vázquez later in the day. When asked about Argentina's trade and political differences with Brazil, the Uruguayan president said "there are very auspicious conditions in the region" for "a better understanding between the two countries." He also said it is necessary to avoid "dramatizing" the possible differences between Mercosur's two leading countries