RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, affirmed on Wednesday that his country is “at an exceptional moment” and that “all the conditions are in place” for it to show “its full potential in the international arena”.
The president made this statement during his accountability speech before the General Assembly at the Legislative Palace, an event attended by almost all his ministers and former Uruguayan President Julio María Sanguinetti (1985-1990 and 1995-2000), a partner in the government coalition.
In a speech in which he described the achievements of his Executive in the second year of his mandate (2020-2025) and some future projects, Lacalle Pou referred to Uruguay’s insertion in international markets.
“I have the intimate conviction that we are in an exceptional moment for our country. All the conditions for our country and the entire population are in place to show its full potential in the international concert. That is what I have brought with me from my missions abroad,” he said.
Lacalle Pou acknowledged that “the pandemic has changed the world” and had a moment of remembrance for Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, “which is further changing the world reality,” leading Uruguay to “be attentive to what is happening in these times”.
“From the beginning of our administration, with the limitations we explained, we set out to open up to the world,” said the president.
Lacalle Pou commented that “the world has shrunk with globalization, and Uruguay has the chance to open up to the world and to do well”.
Undoubtedly, the most outstanding aspect of international relations – apart from the aspirations for Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with China and Turkey – was the one related to the Southern Common Market (Mercosur), a bloc shared with Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.
“We have tried to convince Mercosur partners to modernize the bloc by trying to make it more flexible. For many years now, governments of the Colorado Party, the Frente Amplio, and the coalition have been discussing making it more flexible. This time we are moving from words to deeds,” he argued.
Lacalle Pou commented on the “historical record” of 14,930 people who applied for permanent residency in Uruguay, of which 12,000 came from Argentina.
“In the campaign, we repeatedly talked about our country’s need to receive people, families, and investments from abroad. I believe that the pandemic drove this situation,” he said.
In the second year of his term, Lacalle Pou made five of his six trips so far as president. In his first twelve months, he only went to Brasilia to visit his Brazilian counterpart, Jair Bolsonaro.
With information from EFE