Canada–Uruguay relations are foreign relations between Canada and the Republic of Uruguay. Both countries are members of the

Cairns Group The Cairns Group (Cairns Group of Fair Trading Nations) is an interest group of 19 agricultural exporting countries, composed of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakist ...

, the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...

and the United Nations.

History

Canada and Uruguay established diplomatic relations in January 1951.Canada - Uruguay Relations
/ref> In 1953, Canada's first appointed ambassador to Uruguay was based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In April 2001, Uruguayan President Jorge Batlle paid a visit to Canada to attend the

3rd Summit of the Americas The 3rd Summit of the Americas was a summit held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, on April 20–22, 2001. This international meeting was a round of negotiations regarding a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas. The talks are perhaps bette ...

held in Quebec City. In November 2017, Uruguay co-hosted with Canada the United Nations Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. Uruguay has endorsed the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers as well as Canada's Elsie Initiative for Women in Peace Operations.Minister Rodríguez will travel to Uruguay and Argentina to strengthen bilateral relations with Canada
/ref> In February 2020, Canadian Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Pablo Rodríguez, paid a visit to Uruguay to attend the inauguration for President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou.

Bilateral agreements

Both nations have signed a few agreements such as a Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (1999); Social Security Agreement (2002); Audiovisual Co-Production Agreement (2005); Air Transport Agreement (2012) and a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (2014).

Migration and Tourism

In 2016, there were approximately 5,500 Canadians who claimed to be of Uruguayan descent. In Uruguay, the Canadian expat community is estimated to number around 500 citizens. 15,000 Canadian tourists visited Uruguay in 2016.

Trade

In 2017, trade between Canada and Uruguay totaled US$174 million. Canada's main exports to Uruguay include: afuels, gas and oil; electrics and mechanicals manufactures; fertilizers; pharmaceuticals and plastics and by-products. Uruguay's main exports to Canada include: frozen boneless meat, fresh or dried citrus and fresh berries. In March 2018, Mercosur trade bloc ministers (which includes Uruguay) agreed to launch formal negotiations toward a comprehensive Canada-Mercosur free trade agreement (FTA). Canadian multinational companies such as BlackBerry,

Scotiabank The Bank of Nova Scotia (french: link=no, Banque de Nouvelle-Écosse), operating as Scotiabank (french: link=no, Banque Scotia), is a Canadian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. One of Canada ...

and Thomson Reuters operate in Uruguay.

Resident diplomatic missions

* Canada has an embassy in

Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. * Uruguay has an embassy in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

and consulates-general in Montreal and Toronto.Embassy of Uruguay in Ottawa
/ref>

References