WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.980 --> 00:00:05.105 Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, 2 00:00:05.105 --> 00:00:10.626 Our talks with President of Uruguay Mr Vazquez have just ended. 3 00:00:10.626 --> 00:00:15.475 Let me start by saying that the talks took place in a friendly 4 00:00:15.475 --> 00:00:19.247 atmosphere and were constructive and substantive. 5 00:00:19.247 --> 00:00:21.730 We met in a narrow format first, 6 00:00:21.730 --> 00:00:27.240 and then together with the heads of our ministries and agencies we had 7 00:00:27.240 --> 00:00:31.818 a detailed discussion of our bilateral relations and plans for the future. 8 00:00:31.818 --> 00:00:36.518 Uruguay is Russia’s reliable partner in Latin America. 9 00:00:36.518 --> 00:00:39.787 We are celebrating a remarkable date this year – 10 00:00:39.787 --> 00:00:44.775 the 160th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries. 11 00:00:44.775 --> 00:00:50.135 We reaffirmed our common desire to further develop our bilateral 12 00:00:50.135 --> 00:00:54.835 cooperation in the Joint Declaration we have just signed. 13 00:00:54.835 --> 00:01:01.035 Our talks focused particularly on developing trade and economic ties. 14 00:01:01.055 --> 00:01:06.922 Unfortunately, our bilateral trade has decreased over the past four 15 00:01:06.922 --> 00:01:11.237 years, and this situation is at the centre of our 16 00:01:11.237 --> 00:01:14.774 intergovernmental commission’s attention. 17 00:01:14.774 --> 00:01:19.697 Agriculture is a key area of our cooperation. 18 00:01:19.697 --> 00:01:25.379 Foodstuffs and agricultural produce account for more than 90 percent 19 00:01:25.379 --> 00:01:27.931 of Uruguay’s exports to Russia. 20 00:01:27.931 --> 00:01:34.567 Quality has improved of late and Uruguay has started exporting greater 21 00:01:34.567 --> 00:01:38.212 volumes of other agricultural products, 22 00:01:38.212 --> 00:01:42.885 fish and seafood. Advanced Uruguayan agricultural 23 00:01:42.885 --> 00:01:45.436 technologies are also of interest. 24 00:01:45.436 --> 00:01:50.108 We discussed the prospects for joint projects in the energy sector. 25 00:01:50.108 --> 00:01:54.795 In particular, companies such as Gazprom and Siloviye Mashiny could 26 00:01:54.795 --> 00:01:59.206 take part in modernising Uruguayan hydroelectric power stations 27 00:01:59.206 --> 00:02:03.037 and supplying the necessary materials. 28 00:02:03.037 --> 00:02:06.826 We also proposed that our partners examine the possibility of buying 29 00:02:06.826 --> 00:02:09.247 Sukhoi Superjet and MS-21 aircraft. 30 00:02:09.247 --> 00:02:13.151 We agreed to continue our cooperation in the healthcare sector. 31 00:02:13.151 --> 00:02:18.374 President Vazquez will visit the Dima Rogachev Federal Research Centre 32 00:02:18.374 --> 00:02:22.861 for Paediatric Haematology, Oncology and Immunology tomorrow, 33 00:02:22.861 --> 00:02:28.312 where our colleagues will present the latest Russian developments 34 00:02:28.312 --> 00:02:33.928 in treating children’s diseases, and Mr Vazquez will give a lecture. 35 00:02:33.928 --> 00:02:39.271 We noted the importance of cultural and humanitarian bilateral ties. 36 00:02:39.271 --> 00:02:43.584 Last year, Uruguay hosted with success the Days of Russia, 37 00:02:43.584 --> 00:02:46.782 and a monument to famous Russian navigator, 38 00:02:46.782 --> 00:02:50.574 Admiral Bellingshausen, was unveiled in Montevideo. 39 00:02:50.574 --> 00:02:54.219 We value Uruguay’s good treatment of our compatriots abroad. 40 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:58.267 We have more than 7000 compatriots in Uruguay. 41 00:02:58.267 --> 00:03:01.290 We are grateful to our partners for their support 42 00:03:01.290 --> 00:03:03.063 of Russian language studies. 43 00:03:03.063 --> 00:03:08.172 We exchanged views on a number of key issues on the international agenda. 44 00:03:08.172 --> 00:03:13.632 Russia and Uruguay have identical or similar views on many issues. 45 00:03:13.632 --> 00:03:18.246 This is the basis for our effective cooperation at the UN, 46 00:03:18.246 --> 00:03:21.142 and the Security Council in particular, 47 00:03:21.142 --> 00:03:25.591 where Uruguay is a non-permanent member in 2016–2017. 48 00:03:25.591 --> 00:03:30.948 We discussed in detail prospects for developing Russia’s cooperation 49 00:03:30.948 --> 00:03:34.564 with Latin American countries and underscored the importance 50 00:03:34.564 --> 00:03:37.621 of developing cooperation between regional integration organisations 51 00:03:37.621 --> 00:03:40.804 in which our countries take part. 52 00:03:40.804 --> 00:03:46.650 This concerns above all the Eurasian Economic Union, and MERCOSUR, 53 00:03:46.650 --> 00:03:49.574 the South American common market. 54 00:03:49.574 --> 00:03:52.759 We noted the importance of political dialogue between Russia 55 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:55.892 and the community of Latin American and Caribbean countries. 56 00:03:55.892 --> 00:04:00.619 In conclusion, I would like to thank President Vazquez and our 57 00:04:00.619 --> 00:04:05.872 Uruguayan colleagues for the substantive and engaged discussion today. 58 00:04:05.872 --> 00:04:10.474 I am certain that these talks will contribute to further 59 00:04:10.474 --> 00:04:13.299 developing our bilateral relations. 60 00:04:13.299 --> 00:04:16.523 Thank you very much. Thank you for your attention. 61 00:04:23.183 --> 00:04:34.517 Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. 62 00:04:34.517 --> 00:04:41.479 I would like to say once again that we are greatly honoured to be here 63 00:04:41.479 --> 00:04:45.349 today with President Vladimir Putin. 64 00:04:45.349 --> 00:04:52.760 As he said, we have held robust and productive talks. 65 00:04:52.760 --> 00:04:59.253 As part of my visit, I would like to thank the Government and all 66 00:04:59.253 --> 00:05:07.462 the people of this wonderful country for the wonderful hospitality that 67 00:05:07.462 --> 00:05:14.986 was accorded us, as well as for the kindness and welcome extended 68 00:05:14.986 --> 00:05:20.573 to the Uruguayan delegation as a whole. 69 00:05:20.573 --> 00:05:24.926 Now regarding the bilateral agenda that we are determined to develop. 70 00:05:24.926 --> 00:05:29.372 I would like to single out the following. 71 00:05:29.372 --> 00:05:37.509 First of all, we have consolidated and diversified the ties that exist 72 00:05:37.509 --> 00:05:44.959 between Uruguay and Russia and stressed the strategic importance 73 00:05:44.959 --> 00:05:51.018 of these relations for our small country. 74 00:05:51.058 --> 00:06:00.020 We discussed the bilateral agenda. 75 00:06:00.020 --> 00:06:05.488 We talked about what needs to be done for bilateral political, 76 00:06:05.488 --> 00:06:09.559 economic and cultural activities. 77 00:06:09.559 --> 00:06:12.839 Yesterday we were at the Bolshoi Theatre. 78 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:15.720 I simply must express my admiration. 79 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:19.711 We also addressed defence and security cooperation. 80 00:06:19.711 --> 00:06:23.422 All points of view that coincided, 81 00:06:23.422 --> 00:06:30.735 the consensus and bilateral initiatives were reflected in the Plan of Action 82 00:06:30.735 --> 00:06:34.501 that we adopted during this official visit, 83 00:06:34.501 --> 00:06:38.906 and the implementation of this plan will be indicative of our 84 00:06:38.906 --> 00:06:42.317 countries’ pragmatic approach toward our future. 85 00:06:42.317 --> 00:06:46.803 Indeed, this is an important point. 86 00:06:46.803 --> 00:06:50.276 It is an important point for the future. 87 00:06:50.276 --> 00:06:54.205 Next year the World Cup in football will take place here and I hope 88 00:06:54.205 --> 00:06:56.516 Russia and Uruguay will play the finals. 89 00:06:56.516 --> 00:07:01.906 Indeed, this visit has allowed us to take another step forward 90 00:07:01.906 --> 00:07:05.585 in developing our wonderful bilateral ties. 91 00:07:05.585 --> 00:07:12.174 In politics, we have an open dialogue based on mutual respect. 92 00:07:12.174 --> 00:07:18.406 This strengthens the ties between Uruguay, a small country, and Russia, 93 00:07:18.406 --> 00:07:21.390 one of the world’s leading powers. 94 00:07:21.390 --> 00:07:25.669 We will be marking the 160th anniversary of the establishment 95 00:07:25.669 --> 00:07:28.845 of diplomatic relations between our countries. 96 00:07:28.845 --> 00:07:34.254 Our history is rich. Russian families came to us in the past and they 97 00:07:34.254 --> 00:07:38.641 forged ties between our countries. 98 00:07:38.641 --> 00:07:46.314 They helped establish deep ties that exist to this day. 99 00:07:46.314 --> 00:07:56.807 A wonderful case in point is the city of San Javier and the Russian community in Rio Negro Province. 100 00:07:56.807 --> 00:08:09.915 Russian settlements played an important role in South America and they wrote our history. These are Russian families. 101 00:08:09.915 --> 00:08:15.043 These are people who worked tirelessly and who studied. 102 00:08:15.043 --> 00:08:21.302 These are people who introduced us to their traditions and their history. 103 00:08:21.342 --> 00:08:27.958 Our relations are marked by numerous historical events. 104 00:08:27.958 --> 00:08:35.219 For example, the Russians who lived in San Javier were the first 105 00:08:35.219 --> 00:08:39.017 to cultivate sunflower in Uruguay. 106 00:08:39.017 --> 00:08:43.784 They contributed to production, to my country’s economy. 107 00:08:43.784 --> 00:08:49.948 And I would also like to note that we emphasise the importance 108 00:08:49.948 --> 00:08:54.156 of the documents signed during this visit – 109 00:08:54.156 --> 00:08:58.852 those related to customs, defence and education, 110 00:08:58.852 --> 00:09:05.911 among others. This reflects the diversity of Russian-Uruguayan 111 00:09:05.911 --> 00:09:13.470 relations. And now we have added a strategic dimension to them. 112 00:09:13.470 --> 00:09:19.699 As for multilateral relations, Uruguay and Russia share important 113 00:09:19.699 --> 00:09:26.113 positions on disarmament, nuclear disarmament, fighting terrorism, 114 00:09:26.113 --> 00:09:35.603 development and defending human rights, among others. 115 00:09:35.603 --> 00:09:40.337 As you know, Uruguay is taking part in the work of the UN Security Council 116 00:09:40.337 --> 00:09:44.538 as a non-permanent member for the second time 117 00:09:44.538 --> 00:09:46.955 in the country's history. 118 00:09:46.955 --> 00:09:52.160 As part of these activities, we have had the opportunity to carry out 119 00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:56.099 political cooperation, important cooperation with Russia on major 120 00:09:56.099 --> 00:09:57.984 issues of the international agenda. 121 00:09:57.984 --> 00:10:04.764 We hope this cooperation and these links continue this year as well, 122 00:10:04.764 --> 00:10:11.644 particularly in May, when Uruguay will for the second time take over 123 00:10:11.644 --> 00:10:18.109 Presidency in this major body of the United Nations. 124 00:10:18.109 --> 00:10:25.464 As for trade, I would like to emphasise that Uruguay is also interested 125 00:10:25.464 --> 00:10:29.960 in expanding cooperation in food deliveries, 126 00:10:29.960 --> 00:10:33.433 primarily dairy and meat products. 127 00:10:33.433 --> 00:10:38.326 We must develop stable, mutually beneficial trade 128 00:10:38.326 --> 00:10:44.737 relations, as Mr Putin mentioned. 129 00:10:44.737 --> 00:10:51.397 There are opportunities for boosting this cooperation and diversifying 130 00:10:51.397 --> 00:10:56.369 it through adding new products with high added value. 131 00:10:56.369 --> 00:11:01.060 I believe that Uruguay can become a stable, 132 00:11:01.060 --> 00:11:08.586 important and attractive platform for bringing in foreign investment, 133 00:11:08.586 --> 00:11:15.240 and we welcome all Russian businessmen that show an interest 134 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:18.949 in cooperation with Latin America. 135 00:11:18.949 --> 00:11:27.004 In Uruguay, they will find favourable conditions for doing 136 00:11:27.004 --> 00:11:32.330 business in our country and our region. 137 00:11:32.330 --> 00:11:39.186 President Putin and I discussed the importance of cooperation between 138 00:11:39.186 --> 00:11:41.721 MERCOSUR and the EAEU. 139 00:11:41.721 --> 00:11:47.005 We spoke about cooperation and how it is essential to identify issues 140 00:11:47.005 --> 00:11:51.006 that are of interest to all in order to move forward. 141 00:11:51.006 --> 00:11:58.995 As I have said, the present international context speaks to the need 142 00:11:58.995 --> 00:12:04.553 to eliminate impediments to international trade. 143 00:12:04.553 --> 00:12:09.803 Protectionism is not an option to us and in this respect, 144 00:12:09.803 --> 00:12:15.236 Uruguay believes it is very important to maintain dialogue 145 00:12:15.236 --> 00:12:19.446 and hold talks. This is an important tool for economic cooperation 146 00:12:19.446 --> 00:12:23.347 in the world and for building an international architecture that is 147 00:12:23.347 --> 00:12:26.165 just, balanced and open to all. 148 00:12:26.165 --> 00:12:30.293 Therefore, I would like to reiterate: our country is open 149 00:12:30.293 --> 00:12:35.133 to investment and trade. Our business people have come here with me. 150 00:12:35.133 --> 00:12:48.680 We told our Russian colleagues about business opportunities in Uruguay. 151 00:12:48.680 --> 00:12:52.853 I invited Russian businessmen to use the platform offered by Uruguay, 152 00:12:52.853 --> 00:12:55.899 as well as the opportunities that we provide. 153 00:12:55.899 --> 00:13:01.690 Once again, I would like to thank you, Mr President, for your kindness, 154 00:13:01.690 --> 00:13:05.931 hospitality and the welcome that you extended to us. 155 00:13:05.931 --> 00:13:10.886 And I would like to thank the fraternal Russian people 156 00:13:10.886 --> 00:13:12.749 for the warm welcome. 157 00:13:12.749 --> 00:13:13.452 Thank you. 158 00:13:14.412 --> 00:13:18.999 Mr President, thank you for your kind wishes to our 159 00:13:18.999 --> 00:13:23.933 athletes at the World Cup. 160 00:13:23.933 --> 00:13:29.504 Uruguay is a small country but it was the champion 161 00:13:29.504 --> 00:13:33.708 of the first World Cup in football. 162 00:13:33.708 --> 00:13:37.101 I do not know where the secret lies – 163 00:13:37.101 --> 00:13:41.939 maybe in the quality of the Uruguayan meat and milk you feed your 164 00:13:41.939 --> 00:13:45.950 football players with, but let me assure you that the quality 165 00:13:45.950 --> 00:13:48.732 of Russian food today is excellent as well. 166 00:13:48.732 --> 00:13:51.937 We will cooperate in agriculture, 167 00:13:51.937 --> 00:13:57.957 industry and naturally in humanitarian areas, including sport. 168 00:13:57.957 --> 00:14:03.310 We will look forward to the results of your visit, 169 00:14:03.310 --> 00:14:06.362 which will definitely – I have no doubt about this whatsoever – 170 00:14:06.362 --> 00:14:08.927 provide a strong boost to the development of our bilateral ties. 171 00:14:08.927 --> 00:14:11.480 Thank you. Thank you very much.