Uruguay president pledges to further promote Mercosur integration

Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said on Saturday that his country will continue to promote the integration of Mercosur.

Vazquez made such remarks after meeting with visiting U.S. President George W. Bush on expanding bilateral trade.

Bush, accompanied by his wife Laura and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, arrived here on Friday from Brazil, continuing his tour of Latin America that will also take him to Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

The two leaders talked about issues such as U.S. market access for Uruguayan products. Bush said that the United States is willing to discuss issues on reducing tariffs and agricultural subsidies and also wants to strengthen cooperation with Uruguay in fields of trade and investments.

Uruguay signed a bilateral trade and investment framework agreement with the United States in January, a step analysts said put the two countries closer to a possible free-trade agreement.

The centre-left Uruguayan government has said it might pursue a free-trade agreement with Washington but finally failed due to opposition from most of its fellow members in Mercosur, a trade bloc comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Bush's arrival in Montevideo was marked by protests in which police have seized eight incendiary devices and detained 20 people. About 6,000 people took to the streets Friday night and 150 demonstrators marched through the Uruguayan capital on Saturday to protest Bush's presence.

Bush's trip comes as Washington is adjusting its policy toward the region after Bush has come under increasing criticism by the

Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress for "losing" the region.

The White House said earlier that Bush's trip aims to underline the U.S. government's commitment to the region and to advancing "democracy."

Source: Xinhua