Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro trusts parliament will ratify before the end of the year the Union of South American Nations, Unasur, protocol thus formally incorporating to the regional political and defence group. Uruguay’s legislative opposition does not support incorporation to Unasur.
A thousand government officials and business executives from Latin America and the Caribbean, China, Japan and Korea participated Thursday in the opening session of the China-Latin American Caribbean Business Forum with high-ranking Chinese authorities and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) executives.
President Evo Morales said on Thursday that Bolivia does not need foreign investors to develop an ambitious lithium carbonate project by 2014.
The European parliament has honoured prominent Cuban dissident Guillermo Fariñas, awarding him the prestigious Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought. The 48-year-old journalist has been honoured for his services to advancing human rights in Cuba.
Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa said on Thursday the country had finished negotiations with two oil companies and planned to sign the new service contracts before November 23.
Some companies in Chile have recently become involved in a movement to measure the impact of businesses on freshwater resources.
Chilean president Sebastian Piñera announced Wednesday in Paris a wide-ranging “strategic alliance” with France following a meeting with President Nicholas Sarkozy. Piñera arrived Tuesday from London and later in the week is scheduled to travel to Germany.
A Chilean legislative commission is investigating reports that mining operators ignored danger warnings from a man who was later among 33 later trapped when a mine collapsed.
With many Latin American and Caribbean economies recovering faster than anticipated, the challenge for policymakers is ensuring a moderation in domestic demand to avoid overheating, the IMF said.
The International Monetary Fund once again warned Latin American nations with fast growing economies of the risk of “overheating” due to strong domestic demand, which would cause “inflation and widening of current account deficits.”