President Piñera meets with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou: “We want to join forces to combat the coronavirus pandemic and recover freedoms and opportunities for our people”
The leaders discussed their experiences of managing the pandemic and the progress made in the vaccination process. They also signed a Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding that addresses healthcare.
Chilean President Sebastián Piñera met with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou on Monday to discuss collaboration on coronavirus control and post-pandemic recovery efforts.
“Uruguay and Chile want to join forces to combat the coronavirus pandemic and recover freedoms and opportunities for our people,” President Piñera stated.
They also signed a Bilateral Memorandum of Understanding that addresses healthcare.
President Piñera explained that it is key to “agree on how to address post-pandemic recovery efforts, because we cannot keep doing more of the same. The recovery process must be inclusive, incorporate all our countries’ inhabitants and be sustainable and environmentally friendly.”
During the meeting, President Piñera issued a formal invitation for Uruguay to join the Humboldt fiber optic project that Chile is developing alongside Argentina and Brazil. The project will connect the Americas to Oceania and Asia from Chile, via an underwater optic cable.
He also highlighted the need to strengthen collaboration and integration between the two countries and the rest of Latin America through the Pacific Alliance and the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR). The two leaders discussed topics such as cybersecurity and gender equality, “so that men and women have the same dignity, opportunities, rights and duties,” President Piñera specified.
President Piñera was accompanied by First Lady Cecilia Morel, Foreign Relations Minster Andrés Allamand and Health Minister Enrique Paris.
He also met with Uruguay’s Vice President, Beatriz Argimón, following his meeting with President Lacalle Pou.
President Piñera is currently on a tour focused on strengthening ties with other South American countries. The tour began in Colombia and will culminate with a visit to Paraguay.