URUGUAY: MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALDERON PROMOTES

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000483 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR WHA/BSC MARY DASCHBACH AND CAROLINE CROFT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL ECON ETRD EAGR MX UY SUBJECT: URUGUAY: MEXICAN PRESIDENT CALDERON PROMOTES INCREASED ECONOMIC TIES WITH MEXICO ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited Uruguay August 13-15 to honor an invitation he received last year when President Tabare Vazquez was in Mexico and for the purpose of broadening commercial and political ties between the two countries. President Calderon also demonstrated his support for Plan Ceibal (Uruguay's one-laptop-per-child program),met with three of Uruguay's presidential candidates, and spoke at a special meeting of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI),where he preached to the converted about the importance of increasing economic collaboration within the region. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Calderon's visit to Uruguay was part of a larger South American tour by the Mexican president, who also visited Colombia and Brazil. During his time in Uruguay, he met with the country's major political figures, including President Vazquez, Vice President Rodolfo Nin Novoa, and FM Gonzalo Fernandez. Calderon also met with the three leading candidates in October's presidential elections. ¶3. (U) The centerpiece of Calderon's visit was the signing of an agreement outlining a "strategic alliance" between Mexico and Uruguay which, in the words of FM Fernandez, "intensifies political consultations and favors commercial relations," thereby building on the free trade agreement already in place between the two countries. Included in the agreement is the opening of the Mexican market to Uruguayan boneless lamb, with exports of lamb on the bone still under discussion. Calderon also participated in President Vazquez's presentation of the 300,000th computer used in Uruguay's popular Plan Ceibal (one laptop per child) program to a local school, appropriately named Mexico, where a second-grader wearing a large sombrero performed a traditional Mexican song for the two presidents. ¶4. (U) On the final day of his trip, Calderon spoke at a meeting of the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI),which is headquartered in Montevideo. During his brief speech, Calderon stressed the importance of increased economic and political cooperation within Latin America, telling the group that the countries of the region have both an economy and a culture in common. He also came out strongly against the adoption of protectionist policies, stating that the benefits of international trade are necessary for Latin America to overcome the current economic crisis, and urged increased investment in multilateral financial institutions, particularly the Inter-American Development Bank. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The announcement of permission to export boneless lamb to Mexico received almost as much press locally as the signing of the bilateral strategic alliance. Mexican and Canadian contacts have told us in the past they were waiting for the U.S. to complete its rulemaking on the boneless lamb, so all three countries could move together. End Comment. Matthewman