Under Secretary Paula J. Dobriansky’s
visit to Uruguay January 28-29, 2003, generated fruitful
consultations with Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle, Vice
President Luis Hierro, Minister of the Interior Guillermo
Stirling, members of the Uruguayan Congress and other key
officials. Central issues discussed were international crime,
narcotics and terrorism, the economy, the importance of
human rights in the hemisphere and U.S.-Uruguayan cooperation
in international fora. President Batlle stressed to Under
Secretary Dobriansky the importance Uruguay attaches to
reaching an agreement with the IMF. Under Secretary Dobriansky’s
visit reaffirmed the strength of U.S.-Uruguayan bilateral
relations.
From left to right: U.S. Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein,
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs, Paula J. Dobriansky,
Vice-President of Uruguay, Luis Hierro Lopez, and Senator
Ruben Correa Fleitas
From left to right: Under Secretary of State for Global
Affairs, Paula J. Dobriansky, Uruguayan Under Secretary
of Foreign Affairs,
Guillermo Valles, and U.S. Ambassador Martin J. Silverstein
Statement by
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs
Paula J. Dobriansky Following the Meeting with Foreign Ministry
Officials
Good afternoon to all of you, I am Paula
Dobriansky. I am the Under Secretary of State for Global
Affairs. This is my first visit to Uruguay and I must thank
President Batlle for his graciousness as well as that of
his administration officials. My visit attests to the strong
relationship and strong partnership that we have with Uruguay
in which we have cooperated on a wide range of issues. We
have an excellent relationship with Uruguay and during my
visit I will be continuing to talk about issues that I deal
with in my portfolio. My meetings have included not only
a meeting with the President, but also with officials here
at the Foreign Ministry. I will be meeting with members
of the Uruguayan Congress; I will also be meeting with non-governmental
organizations dealing with human rights and environmental
issues. Specifically, the kinds of issues that we are discussing
include our joint cooperation in the area of anti-crime,
anti-corruption strategies, counter narcotics strategies,
also the kind of work that we have forged together on and
cooperated together in international fora such as the United
Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS) as well
as the community of democracies. Given the strong partnership
that we have with Uruguay, I look forward to these discussions
not only as part of expanding our work in these areas, but
also strengthening the regional cooperation which has been
developed as well. Thank you.
