Uruguay committed to bilateral investment agreement with India

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The meeting led to an agreement to deepen the relations between the two countries in the “political, commercial, investment, cultural and cooperation” areas. According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement, the officials decided to hold virtual meetings in the coming months to work “on the potential negotiation of a Bilateral Investment Agreement.”

In addition, “the completion of the sanitary authorizations still pending for products of Uruguayan export interest, such as apples and citrus fruits” will be discussed, among other issues.

Both parties agreed to “explore new avenues of cooperation in areas such as audiovisual and information technologies. To this end, Acting Minister Ache proposed to India to sign an agreement between the respective cooperation bodies, which will include future initiatives in this area,” the communiqué detailed.

As a result of the pandemic, events to celebrate the 60 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2020 were cancelled. At Monday’s meeting, the officials agreed to set a new schedule for next year with events to be held in both India and Uruguay.

Argentine businessman Manuel Antelo inaugurated his new Nordex assembly plant in Uruguay, a country where the executive has several ongoing businesses in different areas of activity.

At a press conference, Antelo said that when he decided to manufacture vehicles in Uruguay he had two options: to start a plant from scratch or to take over Nordex. He ultimately decided to invest in upgrading the Montevideo plant and use the knowledge that the company’s employees already had. Today, 100% of the staff is Uruguayan.

When asked about how he came to invest in Uruguay with the current exchange rate, he said: “I do not agree at all that there is a lack of competitiveness. If there is a lack of competitiveness in the plant, it is our fault for not knowing how to adapt the working methods, the way of working. People are working at a very good pace. We are happy, very happy. Not only us, but Ford, Peugeot – we manufacture vehicles for them. Everyone says that our productivity is very good.”

“Success comes before work only in the dictionary. Today Nordex is offering a chance to progress. Work and success will come,” he said at the end of his speech at the official inauguration of the Ford plant, in a message to workers.

According to the executive, Uruguay is on a “very good path” to continue attracting investments due to its “very positive” investment promotion.

“It has stability, the rules of the game do not change. It is a two-currency country. We can work in the currency we want, and the economy is very open. I am super-optimistic,” he said.

The initiative involves a joint investment of US$50 million with Ford, employs some 150 people directly, and plans to manufacture some 8,000 Transit utility vehicles per year for several South American markets.

FORD’S NEW PLANT IN URUGUAY

The Argentine entrepreneur also explained that a market niche had to be found. This was the moment when he opted for Nordex, specialized in being a “top level” company to manufacture commercial vehicles at “competitive prices.”

“In general, they are a problem for the brands because they are very large in size, it is difficult to fit them into the lines that need to be customized, and they are generally for lower volumes. Those low volumes are huge for us,” he said.

The agreement with Ford to produce the brand’s vehicles in the country after 35 years was announced late last year. According to Antelo, Ford wanted to manufacture the Transit model in Uruguay and gave them a year and a half to begin. When the agreement was signed, the company did not yet have the land to install the new plant, the entrepreneur said.

The new plant features modern facilities and equipment, including natural lighting and thermal-acoustic insulation. It also has a complete support structure, such as a test track, warehouses, yards, offices, and logistics systems for auto parts and finished vehicles.

Ford South America CEO Daniel Justo pointed out that Nordex’s almost 60 years of experience in the automotive sector producing high quality heavy trucks and automobiles makes it “the ideal partner” for the project.