PHOTO
GALLERY
The President of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Dr. Jorge
Batlle, traveled to The United States January 5th to attend
the inauguration ceremony of the re-elected Governor of
the State of Florida, Jeb Bush. The ceremony took place
in Tallahassee, the state capital of Florida. President
Batlle was accompanied by the Ambassador of the United States
in Uruguay, Martin J. Silverstein.
In addition to attending the inauguration
ceremonies, the President had a 50-minute meeting with Governor
Bush and his father, former US President George Bush with
whom he has a fluid friendship. During this meeting, also
attended by Ambassador Silverstein, they discussed the situation
of Uruguay and regional issues. President Batlle also met
with the Secretary of Agriculture of the State of Florida,
Charles Bronson, with whom he discussed agricultural issues
of mutual interest. Following, he had a meeting with the
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development,
Mel Martinez, to whom he extended an invitation to visit
Uruguay in March 2003.
Following are some of the statements made
by President Batlle during the press conference on arrival
to Uruguay at noon on Wednesday, January 8th at Air Base
No. 1:
“…it was worth it to have been
there, not only because of the honor expressed to Uruguay
with this invitation to attend, but because of the possibility
of making new contacts, enhancing the communication, and
conveying new information. For a small country like Uruguay
this is always useful and valuable, so here we are back
to start working.”
“…but for me this was my first
time experiencing something like this, outside in a huge
open place, full of people participating in a ceremony which
had a very particular atmosphere, that had to do with religion
and family values - the focus of the two ceremonies."
“There was a big stage where the Bush
family sat in the first row, with his three children, the
Governor’s father and his wife. We sat right behind
them. We were given (Uruguay) a great distinction. They
even announced over the loudspeaker that the President of
Uruguay and the U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay were present.”
“The Governor’s speech did not
deal with economic issues. He spoke about two main topics:
education and family. These were the two main issues in
a very important and interesting speech that reiterates
a line of conduct that I believe is a line of conduct that,
shall we say, is in a way an indication of the world’s
evolution in the last few years.”
“As I was saying, it was an open ceremony
attended by anyone who wished to do so, with thousands of
persons participating, and with a strong significance, shall
we say a liaison, between the political message, the family
message and the religious message.”
“I should tell you that we were
accompanied by the Ambassador of the United States, Mr.
Silverstein, who, as always, I sometimes do not know if
he is the U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay or the Uruguayan Ambassador
to the United States, because he is a great collaborator,
a great friend, and a hard worker.”
