- President Aragonès and Minister Serret held several meetings in Montevideo today with parliamentary and local representatives
The President of the Government of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, spoke this afternoon from Montevideo to express will of the Government of Catalonia "to strengthen economic, political and institutional relations" with Uruguay. He noted that there are "historic ties" between "two small countries, but that we have the highest ambition to offer our citizens shared prosperity, justice and the guarantee of the best rights and economic growth".
As part of his official trip to Latin America, the head of the Catalan Government, accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Action and European Union, Meritxell Serret, is holding several meetings today with parliamentary and local representatives from the country with the aim of strengthening ties between the two territories.
Speaking to the media from the Palacio Legislativo in Montevideo, President Aragonès explained that his meetings with the country's leaders have also dealt with the negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union on the trade agreement. "These are very important issues for Catalonia and Uruguay, and we call on each other to continue to exchange points of view because in the end we all want the best for our respective peoples", he added.
Aragonès also explained how questions regarding the political, economic and social situation in Catalonia has also come up in his meetings with various leaders during his trip to Latin America. He remarked how his response has been to explain "the changes that have taken place and how the dialogue process has gone, all the work that still needs to be done, as well as the social, economic and environmental challenges facing the Catalan Government".
This afternoon President Aragonès met, among other officials, with Yamandú Orsi, mayor since 2015 of the city of Canelones, the second most populated city in Uruguay. He is one of the leaders of Frente Amplio and one of its pre-candidates for the presidency of the Republic. The President also met with Alejandro Sánchez, a Frente Amplio senator who took over the seat of former Uruguayan president José Mújica and between 2015 and 2016 was president of the country's House of Representatives.