Uruguayan President José Mujica will greet the first Venezuelan ship to sail under the Mercosur free trade agreement later today in Montevideo.
A press release by the Venezuelan government stated that the ship gave “life to the agreements signed following the inclusion of Venezuela in Mercosur” and was a symbol of the “consolidation of an economic platform that includes long term growth, with benefits for the Venezuelan people and its brother countries”.
The freighter, named José Leonardo Chirinos after an early Venezuelan independence fighter, is delivering 14 metric tons of urea and more than 50 thousand litres of glyphosate, chemicals used to make fertilizers.
The ship left Cabello Port in the northeast of Venezuela on 24th August and stopped in two ports in Brazil before setting course towards Montevideo.
Mercosur is the regional free trade agreement that regroups Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and recently, Venezuela.
Venezuela became a full member of Mercosur on 31st July 2012 after several years of lobbying to enter the free trade zone had been paralysed by Paraguay’s veto. Venezuela’s change of luck came after the 22nd June parliamentary coup in Paraguay led to the country’s suspension of Mercosur, opening the way for Venezuela’s candidacy to be accepted.
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