MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US wishes to improve trade relations and cooperation with Uruguay

Walter Bastian has met with Uruguay’s two leading presidential candidates

United States wishes to improve and expand trade relations with Uruguay as well as scientific cooperation, was the message from the United States Barack Obama administration to the country’s ruling coalition presidential ticket for this month’s general election.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Walter Bastian received former guerrilla leader Jose Mujica and ex Finance minister Danilo Astori at the US embassy compound in Montevideo, where they had a very useful and production half hour conversation, according to Uruguayan sources.

“The conversation was wide ranging with long term issues such a scientific cooperation, student-exchange programs and the need to have on the field US researchers working next to our scientists here in Uruguay”, said Astori.

As to short term issues, “we talked about increasing trade and investment, making use of the tools which have proved exceptionally useful such at TIFA and the treaty for the promotion and protection of investments; Uruguay has taken advantage of these instruments, we’ve had access to the US market with certain products and there are concrete chances of further advances”, said the vice-presidential candidate.

“Our interest is to develop a long term relation with Uruguay and involve US companies in Uruguay”, said Bastian who visited several South American countries with the purpose of promoting US exports and investments.

He also recalled that he had already met in Washington with the other presidential ticket with chances of winning Uruguay’s election at the end of October.

“We’ve already met with Dr. Luis Alberto Lacalle and his team in Washington so this was the opportunity to hold an interview with Mr. Mujica and Mr. Astori”, said the official from the US President Obama administration.

The ruling coalition ticket is scheduled to address a group of Argentine businessmen in Buenos Aires Wednesday when they will explain their government’s program if elected. Another meeting with the Inter-American Commerce and Production Council had to be cancelled because of recent derogative statements from Mr. Mujica referred to Argentina and the Argentines.

At the moment Mujica argued his statements “had been taken out of context”.

For Mr. Mujica it was also the first time he set foot in the US Embassy in Montevideo. As a former member of the Tupamaros urban guerrilla movement he was jailed fourteen years for “seditious actions” until March 1985, when the Uruguayan parliament voted a general amnesty on the return of democracy.

Twenty five years later he has great chances of being voted in the presidential office as the candidate for the ruling catch-all coalition, Broad Front.