MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Tony Blair in Montevideo: will meet President Orsi this Wednesday

Uruguayan president Yamandu Orsi last week was in Rome addressing the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO

Uruguayan president Yamandu Orsi will receive this Wednesday midday at the Executive Tower, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to the presidential office release. The former prime minister currently holds the chair of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and is on a regional tour, having met on Tuesday Paraguayan president, Santiago Peña in the capital Asuncion.

Mr. Blair’s visit occurs in a very significant moment of international interest, since Uruguay for decades has played vital roles in global humanitarian, cooperation and peace missions. Likewise the former British head of government’s name has been repeatedly mentioned as a potential candidate for the transition and recovery process in the Gaza strip, following on the cease fire, return of hostages and hopefully a long standing peace process sponsored by US president Donald Trump.

Besides Tony Blair is an experienced politician, over a decade as prime minister and was one of the builders of the Holy Friday Agreement which, with decisive US participation, put an end to the ongoing battling between British forces and the IRA armed group. But he also fully involved UK in the controversial Iraq invasion and war speared by ex-president George Bush which had an ungraceful and recriminatory end.

Last week president Orsi was in Italy where he met the Pope, Italian top authorities and addressed the FAO assembly celebrating its 80th anniversary, where he said “the time has come to aid and make true what we have said so many times over (ending world hunger)”, but he also later mentioned Uruguay had been invited to help and work with the Gaza strip reconstruction process.

Orsi mentioned that Uruguay with a strong food production industry could collaborate with some produce as well as building schools and helping with schooling, given its successful experience distributing laptops among students to facilitate learning computer science. Finally, “we are waiting for the international community to decide”

However it must also be mentioned that the Blair visit, does not come out of the blue. In effect last August the Global Change Institute regional director, Jana Nelson, spent several days in Uruguay fact-finding on the country’s government digitalization process and possible venues of common interest and cooperatio. Ms. Nelson previously was Deputy Secretary at the Pentagon’s Security and Defense Office.