High representative of the EU visits Uruguay and Argentina to “strengthen bilateral and regional relations”

The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, began a tour of South America on Monday.

The first country visited by the diplomat was Uruguay, a nation that the bloc considers “key” and with which it maintains various agreements and close ties in trade and cooperation. In fact, the EU is the largest investor in Uruguay.

In Montevideo, Borrell met with President Luis Lacalle Pou and Vice President Beatriz Argimon. He also had a meeting with Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo.

“We have talked about (the) Russian aggression in Ukraine and I have conveyed to President Luis Lacalle Pou our commitment to progress towards the signing of a treaty with Mercosur and strengthen relations with Uruguay,” Borrell said on Twitter.

The next stop on the tour will be Argentina. On October 25, Borrell will meet with Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero and later with President Alberto Fernández, according to the European bloc.

Likewise, Borrell is expected to attend the ministerial meeting of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean on October 26 and to hold several bilateral meetings with foreign ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). During that day he will also hold a meeting with Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

On October 27, Borrell will co-chair the third meeting of EU-CELAC Foreign Ministers together with the Argentine Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, who holds the position of Pro Tempore President of the organization. As mentioned by the Argentine government in a statement, during the meeting Cafiero “will present the progress and moderate the dialogue on the 15 lines of action established by the PPT Argentina, including post-COVID economic recovery; regional health strategy; CELAC agenda against corruption; food safety; dialogue with extra-regional partners; integration of Latin American and Caribbean infrastructure; environmental cooperation; and improvement of the situation and condition of women in the member countries”.

According to the EU, the meeting “will pave the way for greater high-level bi-regional engagement with a view to a summit next year.”

On October 28, before putting an end to his tour of South America, the High Representative will visit the Argentine town of Bariloche in order to “launch the largest EU initiative in the field of human rights and in support of the civil society”, according to an EU report.

In this way, Borrell travels to Latin America for the third time within his current mandate. In the past, the Spanish diplomat has reiterated the need to strengthen the ties that exist between the European organization and Latin America and has highlighted that the region “has enormous growth potential”.

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