Uruguay and China will sign a visa facilitation agreement for businessmen and investors from both countries so that they can travel more easily, officials told El Observador.
The signing of the agreement will take place on Wednesday at noon at the Santos Palace between Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who will be on an official visit to the country for three days.
At present there is no facilitation for people from both countries who move for business purposes; every time a businessman travels he has to apply for a new visa. From this agreement, more durable visas will be issued, which will help facilitate the arrival of potential Chinese investors to the country and boost the growing exchanges.
«Esto es parte del objetivo de integrar las economías», dijo uno de los informantes consultados.
El canciller chino llegará a Montevideo procedente de Santiago de Chile, donde participó de la segunda reunión ministerial entre China y la Comunidad de Estados Latinoamericanos y Caribeños (Celac), un encuentro que según el gobierno chino da inicio a una «nueva era» en las relaciones entre el gigante asiático y la región. En esta gira, la cancillería china decidió hacer solo dos visita oficiales: Chile y Uruguay, un país que mira hacia el Pacífico y el otro hacia el Atlántico.
Las relación bilateral entre China y Uruguay se afianzó desde que ambos países firmaron un acuerdo de «asociación estratégica» que apuntaló la cooperación y el comercio. China es el socio comercial al que Uruguay más le vende y el único de los cinco primeros con que tiene una balanza comercial positiva. La expectativa del gobierno uruguayo es hacer que esa asociación estratégica sea «integral»
Still pending, however, is progress toward a free trade agreement that Presidents Tabaré Vázquez and Xi Jinping pledged to sign this year. The next step towards this milestone is the completion of a joint feasibility study.
A few days after the foreign minister's visit, a joint government and business delegation led by the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Carolina Cosse, and the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (CUTI) will leave for China to promote cooperation in the technology, information and communication sector. The government intends to export software and global services to that country.
The new paradigm that China has for Latin America is inspired by the example of all the development it has done with Chile and includes trade agreements, currency swap agreements, establishment of banks authorized for Renminbi (the Chinese currency) settlement operations in local markets, a belt and road, more quality agricultural trade, investments in infrastructure and adherence to a new financial architecture that has China as a protagonist.
Meeting with Vázquez
Wang Yi's work agenda will begin on Wednesday morning with an audience with President Tabaré Vázquez at the Suárez y Reyes residence. After that meeting he will hold a meeting with Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa, with whom they will sign the visa agreement.
The two ministers will have lunch at the Sofitel Hotel (former Hotel Carrasco) with about thirty people. The two foreign ministers are expected to make speeches on the occasion.
A few hours later, the focus will shift to Kibon, where there will be a reception to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The Vice President of the Republic, Lucía Topolansky, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, José Carlos Mahía, the former foreign ministers Didier Opertti, Álbaro Ramos, Segio Abreu and Enrique Iglesia, the president of the board of the National Party, Luis Alberto Heber, the secretary general of the Colorado Party, Adrián Peña, the 19 departmental mayors and the members of the International Affairs Committee of both chambers have been invited to the event.
The protocol ceremony will begin with the singing of the national anthems and will continue with speeches by the two foreign ministers.
On his last day in Uruguay, Yi will hold private activities in the east of the country. He will visit Casapueblo, the beach of the fingers and the milestone demarcating the boundary of the Rio de la Plata with the Atlantic Ocean.
Wang Yi is the chancellor of the world's second-largest economy and the most popular minister in Xi's cabinet.
Source: The Observer
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