MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mujica administration plans to strengthen political links with the region

Incoming Uruguayan chancellor Luis Almagro: political contacts help solve all other issues

Uruguay’s president-elect Jose Mujica, once instated next March first, will be visiting several countries of the region while his administration will attempt closer political links with neighbouring countries to facilitate trade, said Luis Almagro, the future Foreign Affairs minister.

Among the countries to visit figure Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil and Chile for the taking office ceremony of conservative president Sebastian Piñera scheduled March 11.
Uruguay together with Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay is a founding member of Mercosur, which also includes Chile and Bolivia as associate members and Venezuela in the process of full membership incorporation.

“We must work a bit more on the political side, since closer political links always help to solve all other issues”, said Almagro in a meeting in Montevideo with foreign correspondents. “We must continue to strengthen our relation with Brazil, an indispensable, essential partner for Uruguay, and we must make our relation with Argentina to grow. Currently we are exporting to Argentina half of what I estimate we could be shipping to our neighbours”, said Almagro.

According to the latest data, Uruguayan exports to Brazil increased 10.5% between Jan and November 2009 totalling 997 million US dollars. However with Argentina trade has contracted 35% to 312 million USD.

“If we assess any bilateral relation in the world, always the basics is the political relation; from that relation other things in other fields can be built” argued Almagro.

Attempts to improve relations with Argentina are linked to an ongoing conflict over the construction of a pulp mill on the Uruguayan side of a shared river by the two neighbours, which ended in the International Court of The Hague, plus pickets on the Argentine side, impeding traffic along an international bridge.

The controversy begun over an environmental dispute but rapidly cascaded to a full blown diplomatic and political conflict (and personal animosity) between the Kirchner couple in Argentina and Uruguay’s outgoing President Tabare Vazquez.

Almagro said that the Mujica government expects to be able to work jointly with Argentina on the ruling of the international court.

Mujica so far has shown a far more fluid and candid contact with the Argentine government and has visited several times President Cristina Kirchner in Buenos Aires trying to set foundations for normalizing relations once he takes office.

When asked about the “protectionist” temptations of some Mercosur members Almagro said that the Mercosur is the “most backward of blocks in international trade matters and must seek out of the region accords to improve its competitiveness position”.

“We need greater efforts in achieving business deals with the US and Asia, and advance in the stalled negotiations with the European Union”, added Almagro.

President-elect Mujica also mentioned this week that he might be travelling to Mexico for the Rio Group two-day summit next week, with President Vazquez who originally had cancelled the trip but later desisted on a personal request from Mexican president Felipe Calderón.

“I would like to go but I have several jobs to finish. Don’t know maybe tonight I will have a better idea of my agenda, but I would like to travel to the meeting”, said Mujica.