On September 8-9, 2009, Chargé d'Affairs (CDA) Robin Matthewman, Econ/Commercial Officer Jack Doutrich, and Sector Specialist Jorge J. Balparda, visited the provinces of Tacuarembó and Rivera as part of the Commercial Section's outreach to the interior. The first stop was in the town of San Gregorio de Polanco in Tacuarembó, located approximately 220 miles northeast of Montevideo, where they met with a group of rural artisan women engaged on a small-scale production of jellies, marmalades, textiles and ceramics wanting to expand their production in Uruguay.

The second stop was at Weyerhaeuser's plywood and new renewable energy plants. The Embassy officials were received by Allen Watters, plant manager, who offered them a guided tour of the facilities. In the evening, CDA Matthewman hosted a dinner for local businessmen, authorities of the municipality, and members of the Association of Tacuarembó. The group included representatives from Uruguay's largest rice producer, the largest mat processing plant and its only independent biomass generation plant.

The last day of the trip, the delegation visited Uruguay Minerals Exploration's gold mining and processing operations in Rivera, approximately 300 miles northeast of Montevideo. The Embassy officials were received by John Sadek, vice president of operations and Terry Butler, plant manager who led them on a guided tour of the facilities.

CDA Matthewman with artisan women at San Gregorio de Polanco in Tacuarembo.		CDA Matthewman visiting the Uruguay Minerals Exploration's gold mining operation in Rivera.

The Uruguay Minerals Exploration plant in Rivera.		U.S. Embassy delegation with Uruguay Minerals Exploration officials.