
“Negotiations are on the right track” and should be concluded in coming months, said Uruguayan sources adding that one of the current difficulties is what will happen with the Argentine negotiating team, following December 10 when re-elected President Cristina Fernandez takes office for her second consecutive four year mandate.

Uruguay’s Vice president Danilo Astori downplayed the effects of Argentina’s restrictive measures for the purchase of dollars and forecasted an excellent summer season with hundreds of thousands of Argentines tourists visiting Uruguay.

Uruguay’s Central bank sees “few probabilities” of a strong deceleration in emerging economies or a ‘significant’ fall in commodities prices even when lately there has been a drop in the value of grains although still above their historic average.

Brazil’s Foreign Affairs minister Antonio Patriota said Brasilia supports Uruguay in its controversy with France following President Nicholas Sarkozy claim, at the recent G20 summit, that Uruguay was a ‘fiscal haven’.

European and Latinamerican leaders agreed in Brussels that the two continents should continue to strengthen links in spite of the serious financial and economic situation facing the European Union.

Union of South American Nations, Unasur, Economy and Finance ministers will be meeting next Friday November 25 in Buenos Aires to address the current international crisis and advance in a common agenda. The meeting will also include Central bank presidents and governors.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez promised on Monday to continue defending with ‘tooth and nails’ the powerful wheel of domestic consumption that has boosted the current economic model but also admitted the existence of ‘distortions which must be corrected’.

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez received strong support from the industrial sector for her latest policy of eliminating subsidies which are widely extended in the economy, but manufacturers also called for prudence and gradualism.

Peruvian President Ollanta Humala emphasized on Monday the importance of trade and investment relations with China, both for Peru and the region during the opening in Lima of the two-day 5th China-Latin America Business Summit

The World Bank approved last week a loan for 49 million dollars to support Uruguayan farmers in adopting environmentally sustainable practices to improve the resilience of their production systems in response to the effects of climate variability.