MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivia interested in Uruguayan ports for its overseas trade

Minister Choquehuanca said Uruguayan conditions are superior to those offered by Chile.

Uruguay has offered far better conditions for the export of Bolivian products from Uruguayan ports than Chile has, revealed on Friday Bolivian Foreign Affairs minister David Choquehuanca.

Bolivian president Evo Morales is scheduled to visit Montevideo next Monday when he will be meeting with his peer Tabare Vazquez to address an agenda of issues that was discussed by delegations from both countries meeting in Uruguay, particularly the improvement of conditions for the use of Uruguayan ports, Nueva Palmira and Montevideo.

“We are working for Bolivia to have access to the Uruguayan ports, Atlantic ports; we are drafting a set of bilateral regulations which we expect to have ready in three months”, added Choquehuanca.

The Bolivian official said the Uruguayan offer was superior to that of Chile for the use of the ports of Arica and Iquique, along the Pacific, so far the main route for the landlocked country’s overseas trade.

“One of the advantages of using Uruguayan ports is that we have direct access to the Atlantic for Bolivian exports”, said Choquehuanca.

Bolivia is also interested in re-floating a long standing project which could become a second option for its exports: the Paraguay-Parana-River Plate waterway which extends for 3.500 kilometres from the heartland of South America to the River Plate.

“The fluvial system is navigable all the way from Puerto Caceres next to Brazil to Nueva Palmira in Uruguay”, said Choquehuanca who recalled that the waterway system is shared besides Bolivia and Uruguay, by Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

Another issue at the Morales-Vazquez summit is the possibility of selling Bolivian natural gas to Uruguay which depends heavily on Argentina for its supply.

“We have the continent’s second largest gas reserves and we are anxious to diversity markets”, underlined the Bolivian official. Bolivia’s gas is sold to Brazil and Argentina that have financed the pipelines network.