Marcelo Pugliesi, National Director of Mining and Geology of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay Photo: Courtesy of the Embassy of Uruguay in Beijing

Uruguay looks forward to cooperating with China in green and automated mining to help explore natural resources, National Director of Mining and Geology from the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining of Uruguay Marcelo Pugliesi said on Tuesday while praising China's green development. 

Pugliesi said that Uruguay will work with China on sustainable development, especially in the exploitation of minerals, leveraging innovative technologies to help the development of Uruguay's mining industry, China Media Group reported on Wednesday.

Uruguay was the first Southern Common Market country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China on cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he said. Power transmission and transformation projects built in Uruguay under the BRI, relying on Chinese technology, are aiding Uruguay to advance its green transformation.

Pugliesi expressed hope that Uruguay will adopt more technologies from China under the BRI, including those in automated mining and renewable energy. He added that some mining enterprises in Uruguay are purchasing heavy machinery from China. 

China's Minister of Natural Resources Wang Guanghua met with Uruguay's Minister of Industry Energy and Mining Omar Paganini on September 6 in Beijing. The two sides reached a three-point consensus on deepening cooperation in geology and minerals, including strengthening inter-ministerial high-level exchanges, actively promoting bilateral cooperation in related sectors and enhancing investment cooperation.

China and Uruguay have enjoyed enhanced cooperation in various fields from mining to agriculture. Uruguay's Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries Fernando Mattos finished his 19-day-long trip in China in May, with fruitful results of bilateral agricultural cooperation including signed agreements between agricultural ministries as well as other related institutions.

In 2022, the bilateral trade reached $7.44 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.9 percent, with an export value of $2.98 billion and import value of $4.46 billion, while China was Uruguay's largest trading partner, official data showed. 

Global Times