Uruguayan Foreign Minister Goes To Europe To Drum Up EU-Mercosur Trade Deal

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Goes to Europe to Drum Up EU-Mercosur Trade Deal

MONTEVIDEO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th November, 2020) Francisco Bustillo, the Uruguayan foreign minister and Mercosur's rotating chair, will tour European capitals in the coming weeks to rally support for the trade pact with the EU, his chief of staff told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The EU and Mercosur, a South American trade bloc, said last year they had reached an agreement "in principle" on a trade deal they had been negotiating off and on for more than two decades. But the European Parliament said last month that the pact could not be ratified in its current form.

"We will go to Madrid, then on to Moscow, Brussels, Paris and Berlin. The main goal of the minister's visit is to promote the signing of the deal between the EU and Mercosur," said Fernando Lopez Fabregat, who is dubbed Bustillo's right hand by Uruguayan media.

The foreign minister will reportedly stay in Moscow until December 2, in Brussels until December 6, spend a night in Paris and then fly to Berlin. In Moscow, he is expected to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for talks on bilateral ties and international events.