<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, will undertake a tour of Chile, Uruguay, and Paraguay this week. This will include a meeting with the presidents of Chile, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay to promote multilateralism and democracy, as well as business meetings in Montevideo and Asunción.</strong></h4> The tour will begin this Monday in Santiago, Chile, where Pedro Sánchez will participate in the "Democracy Always" meeting at La Moneda Palace. This high-level meeting will be chaired by Chilean President Gabriel Boric, and also attended by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Colombian President Gustavo Petro; and Uruguayan President Yamandú Orsi. The objective of this meeting, according to the Chilean Presidency, is "to continue the process that began in 2024 during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly" and to advance "a shared position in favor of multilateralism, democracy, and global cooperation based on social justice." The proposals resulting from this meeting, the same source specified, "will be presented and developed during the next High-Level Meeting, which will take place within the framework of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly," scheduled for September of this year in New York. The meeting in Santiago will also continue the first meeting of the initiative "In Defense of Democracy, Fighting Extremism," organized in 2024 by the presidents of Brazil and Spain in the context of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and which featured Gabriel Boric and other heads of state and government. <h5><strong>Uruguay</strong></h5> The second leg of Pedro Sánchez's tour will take place in Montevideo, where he will be received this Tuesday by President Orsi, with whom he will discuss progress on the Mercosur-EU agreement and hold a joint press conference. Pedro Sánchez, who is traveling with 20 executives from leading Spanish companies, will also participate in a bilateral business forum organized by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, the State Secretariat for Trade, through ICEX Spain Export and Investment, and the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations (CEOE), with the collaboration of the Confederation of Business Chambers (CCE) and Uruguay XXI. According to the Government of Uruguay, the event represents a strategic investment opportunity for Spanish companies in key sectors such as renewable energy, information technology, financial services, agribusiness, infrastructure, and tourism, among others. He will later visit former Uruguayan Vice President Lucía Topolansky, widow of former Uruguayan President José "Pepe" Mujica (2010-2015), who died on May 13 at the age of 89 and was considered a leading figure in the Latin American left. <h5><strong>Paraguay</strong></h5> On Wednesday, the Prime Minister will arrive in Asunción, where he will be received by Paraguayan President Santiago Peña, with whom he will preside over the signing of several bilateral agreements. He will also attend a tribute to Josefina Plá, a Spanish journalist and writer who died in 1999 and was one of the pioneers of feminism in Paraguay. Separately, Pedro Sánchez will close the Paraguay-Spain Business Meeting, organized by the CEOE (Spanish Economic Commission for Spain), the State Secretariat for Trade, through ICEX (Spanish Institute of Trade and Commerce), and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Paraguayan Ministry of Industry and Commerce, through the Paraguayan Investment and Export Network (REDIEX), and the Paraguayan Industrial Union. According to the CEOE (Spanish Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), Paraguay has positioned itself as a gateway to Mercosur thanks to its "privileged geographic location" in the center of the continent, which adds to other competitive advantages the country offers for foreign investment, such as low taxes, access to clean and affordable energy based on hydroelectric production, a young and available workforce, and abundant natural resources. The country offers opportunities in established sectors, such as agriculture and food, and in other developing sectors, such as transportation infrastructure, renewable energy, ICT, and electromobility.
