MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay to open up Ankara embassy following FM Bustillo's Turkish tour

Bustillo with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

Uruguay and Turkey have signed a Memorandum of Understanding whereby a Political Consultation Mechanism as Francisco Bustillo, Foreign Minister of the South American country, rounds up his diplomatic tour.

The future opening of an Uruguayan embassy in Ankara is one of the main consequences of the Minister's mission, according to Montevideo sources. It was the first visit of an Uruguayan Foreign Minister to that country.

“Today we have requested approval to be able to install our own diplomatic representation, embassy here in Turkey,” said Bustillo after a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, during which world events and bilateral ties were discussed.

In addition, the two Ministers signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a Mechanism for Political Consultations and a Cooperation Agreement between the diplomatic academies of both countries.

Bustillo added that “the opportunity was propitious in turn to announce the forthcoming opening of the Embassy of the Republic in Ankara,” which will match Turkey's level of representation in Montevideo.

Both diplomats addressed future bilateral agreements currently under negotiation such as the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments and to Avoid Double Taxation, which both parties intend to sign before the end of 2021 at the Uruguayan capital.

“The parties intend to sign these agreements at the meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic issues,” Uruguay's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, which added that “both agreements, together with the one signed yesterday between Foreign Minister Bustillo and the Turkish Minister of Commerce on Customs Cooperation, will form a powerful instrument aimed at promoting the deepening of the economic-commercial relationship between both nations.”

Bustillo and Turkey's Commerce Minister Mehmet Mus had signed earlier this week an agreement for cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters, which also provided for the holding of the first meeting of the Joint Economic Commission of the Trade Agreement, Economic and Technical Cooperation, in Montevideo during November.

According to Uruguay's Presidency sources, trade between the two countries exceeds 200 million US dollars, with a surplus balance for Uruguay, which in 2020 reached US $ 106.8 million.

Bustillo also met Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi to discuss adding Montevideo's Carrasco airport to one of the carrier's 315 destinations worldwide.

Uruguay's Foreign Minister also held encounters with several Turkish business organizations and agreed to create a Bilateral Trade Council, between the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay and the DEIK of Turkey. At the Grand National Assembly, Bustillo was welcomed by the director of the Uruguay-Turkey Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, Mustafa Kendirli.