Uruguay’s largest pulp mill UPM announced that it will be making final checks of the plant’s equipment in the rest of the week, following on annual maintenance work, but production is not scheduled to resume until the Finnish company receives a reply from President Jose Mujica regarding the output expansion request.
Finland’s energy and pulp UPM group has again been named among the world's sustainability leaders. The company has retained its position in both the Dow Jones European and World Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for 2013-2014. Furthermore, the company has been assessed as the industry leader in environmental sustainability within the Paper and Forest Products sector with top scores.
Uruguay’ President Jose Mujica said the decision authorizing a possible expansion, or not, of the UPM/Botnia pulp mill is closely linked to Argentina and the construction of a third plant along an inside Uruguayan river and not a shared one as is the case now.
The bilateral conflict between Argentina and Uruguay over the UPM/Botnia pulp mill, on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay River is once again leading to tension between the two neighbours amid reports that the plant’s Finnish owners plan to increase production from 1.1 to 1.3 million tons of cellulose paste per year.
Uruguay’s First Lady and Senator Lucia Topolansky said that for her fellow countrymen having a dispute with Argentina is “like fighting with yourself” and described as ‘painful’ the several years long conflict between the two countries over the construction of the UPM (former Botnia) pulp mill on a shared river.
Uruguay’s President Jose Mujica, speaking without realizing a microphone was on, referred to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner as that ‘old lady’ saying she is “worse” than her late husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.
A huge pulp mill, UPM, which has been at the heart of a several years’ controversy between Uruguay and Argentina, does not contaminate revealed Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro before the Uruguayan parliament.
Uruguayan president Jose Mujica currently visiting Germany said that relations with Argentine are very good and forecasted that President Cristina Fernandez will win he re-election bid next Sunday as he had anticipated two years ago.
Former Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez (2005/2010) apologized on Thursday for his statements on a “was hypothesis” with Argentina in 2006 saying they had been ‘inopportune’ and announced he was retiring from public politics activities.
The governments of Uruguay and Argentina have decided to ignore the controversy born out of statements from former President Tabare Vazquez who said that during the Botnia-UPM pulp plant conflict, back in 2006/07, he did not discard a “war hypothesis” given the aggressive attitude of Argentina and for which he had requested support from the Bush administration.