Uruguay will be hosting Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes in early June when he is expected to confirm' his country's support to Uruguay and Brazil in their renewed approach to accelerate negotiations for the signing of a full cooperation and free trade agreement with the European Union, which were started fifteen years ago.
Uruguayan president Tabare Vazquez will be meeting his peer, Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia this Thursday to address a dense bilateral agenda, and more specifically the workings and future of Mercosur, in search for a more flexible group, open to agreements with third parties.
Paraguay's foreign affairs minister Eladio Loizaga admitted in Madrid that Mercosur could consider the possibility of a two-speed system in trade and cooperation negotiations with the European Union. The minister was the main speaker at the event organized by Casa de America and the Spanish government news agency EFE.
Uruguay again complained about the current stalled situation of Mercosur and called for members to 'sincere' themselves regarding the compliance of the original 1991 founding charter, and hopefully we can at least reach the first stage of the chronogram: a free trade zone which effectively works and has not to bear the brunt of hurdles.
Following on the lead of Uruguay's new government, Paraguay has also demanded Mercosur returns to its roots and original objective with free circulation of goods and no obstructions of any kind or impediments such as tariff barriers. The five countries group has been paralyzed and negotiations for an encompassing cooperation and trade agreement with the European Union remain stalled.
A new World Bank Group report, “Shared Prosperity and Poverty Eradication in Latin America and the Caribbean”, explores the performance of eight countries to understand what has driven progress, and what it will take to sustain it.
Pope Francis will make his first visit as pontiff to Spanish-speaking Latin America in July, stopping in Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Vatican said Thursday. The pope will kick off his trip in Ecuador on July 6, then travel to Bolivia on July 8 and wrap up his tour in Paraguay from July 10 to 12.
People in Latin America are the most likely in the world to experience a lot of positive emotions on a daily basis, according to Gallup's Positive Experience Index. In fact, for the first time in Gallup's 10-year history of global tracking, all of the top 10 countries with the highest Positive Experience Index scores are in Latin America.
Fresh from an incident with Venezuela which delayed and displaced a Unasur meeting, the Uruguayan government is looking for closer relations with the conservative administration of Paraguay, putting the emphasis on regional integration but also in making Mercosur a more open and dynamic trade and cooperation block.
A Paraguayan radio journalist has been shot to death in a Brazilian city bordering a crime-ridden area that is a hotbed for drugs and arms smuggling, officials said on Friday. Gerardo Servian worked for a local radio station near the city of Pedro Juan Caballero.