MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay wants to become an “actor of peace”

Lubetkin outlined Uruguay's foreign policy under President Orsi

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Mario Lubetkin had on Wednesday his first formal day in office on Wednesday. During a ceremony in Montevideo attended by President Yamandú Orsi and Vice President Carolina Cosse, the South American country's top diplomat emphasized Uruguay's role as an “actor of peace” to help reduce global tensions.

He also underlined the importance of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) in addition to improving ties with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the BRICS group.

Lubetkin also brought up the willingness of some Asian countries to deepen relations with Uruguay and reiterated the commitment to ensuring no one is left behind in the country's progress.

Regarding Mercosur, Lubetkin hoped that “all partners remain committed and comfortable in this strategic space of integration.”

He also mentioned that the country was “summoned” to attend regional instances, such as its participation in CELAC, and noted that Uruguay had already endorsed Surinamese Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin for the position of Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary-General to succeed the Uruguayan Luis Almagro.

Lubetkin also thanked Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva's invitation to Orsi to participate in the BRICS Summit, which “will mean a change in the quality of the dialogue between our country and the great emerging countries of the South” and will be an opportunity to “improve our bilateral relationship with each of these countries.”

In addition, Lubetkin pledged to have the best relationship with the United States and seek “to continue stimulating the greatest number of agreements that will allow us to generate State policies.”

The official also admitted he had instructions from Orsi to “help reduce the growing levels of tension in the world” and become “an actor of dialogue in the sub-regional and regional context and beyond,” such as in the Middle East.

“We are convinced that this path will give us great results and satisfaction and will demonstrate the extraordinary power of Uruguay's foreign service,” he also said.

“We know perfectly well what the challenges of Mercosur are, and we know that it will not be easy,” he said, and pledged to continue working on the European Union-Mercosur agreement. “We will work closely to concretize the agreement,” he stressed.

“We seek to generate integrating synergies among the countries of the region,” he also pointed out.

“We must move forward in the South American space, where perhaps we verify the greatest backwardness in terms of regional integration, as several presidents have pointed out these days,” he lamented.