Carolina Pimentel
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will participate in the inauguration of the new President of Uruguay, Tabaré Vásquez, tomorrow (1). According to a note released by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Lula's presence at the ceremony is intended to strengthen relations between Uruguay and Brazil. "Besides the ties of personal friendship that unite Presidents Lula and Tabaré Vásquez, the two leaders share the political ideals of building more just and democratic societies and, especially, the determination to face up to social problems, seeking to reduce poverty and social inequality in their respective countries," the note affirms.

The Ministry informed that the two governments should go ahead with negotiations over projects in the transportation, energy, and communications sectors. The construction of a second bridge over the Rio Jaguarão, on the border, and a new transmission line between the two countries is on the negotiating agenda. Brazil is responsible for over 60% of the electric power consumed by the Uruguayans.

Besides Vásquez's inauguration, Lula will also participate, on Wednesday (2), in the inauguration of an Ambev malt factory in the city of Paysandú. Ambev (Brazilian Beverage Company) is Brazil's largest beverage company and the seventh largest in the world. According to the Ministry of Foreign Relations, the factory will promote the integration of agriculture with industry in Uruguay and will create jobs in agriculture and in the logistics and transportation of barley and malt.

Translation: David Silberstein