NewsINBAR Headquarters welcomes Uruguay’s minister, ambassador
High-level delegation from Uruguay paves the way for imminent accession to INBAR as its 51st Member State.
On 6 July 2024, Prof. Jiang Zehui, Co-Chair of the INBAR Board of Trustees, met with H.E. Fernando Mattos, Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay and H.E. Fernando Lugris, Ambassador of Uruguay to China, at INBAR Headquarters in Beijing. The two parties held talks on further promoting Uruguay’s accession to INBAR and enhancing collaboration and exchange across bamboo and rattan sectors.
Jiang welcomed Mattos for his third visit to INBAR and provided an update regarding the country’s accession to INBAR. Jiang mentioned that the INBAR Council granted Uruguay Observer status after Uruguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs submitted a membership application last year. Uruguay’s internal ratification process has also been encouraging. Recently, both chambers of the Uruguayan Parliament officially approved the Agreement on the Establishment of INBAR, after which a bill was later signed by the President of Uruguay. Over the past year, the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries of Uruguay has been in close communication with the INBAR Secretariat, along with the Embassy of Uruguay in China. The final remaining step for Uruguay to officially join INBAR as a Member State is to submit the accession letter signed by the President. 
Mattos expressed his pleasure that Uruguay would soon become the 51st Member State of INBAR and announced that a high-level delegation would attend the flag-raising ceremony to be later convened at the headquarters in Beijing. He noted that the bamboo industry offers both economic and social benefits and hoped, with INBAR’s support, to fully utilize Uruguay’s bamboo resources, select and cultivate high-quality bamboo species and develop a green bamboo industry chain, all of which can improve livelihoods, boost farmers’ incomes and promote sustainable community development.
Given Uruguay’s emphasis on curbing plastic pollution, the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative, launched by INBAR and the Government of China, also holds great promise in Uruguay, where the initiative could leverage bamboo to replace plastic products and address environmental pollution. This is because the plant is is a nature-based solution for high-emissions and difficult-to-degrade plastics. He looks forward to seeing Uruguay’s flag flying high above INBAR soon.
After the meeting, Jiang asked Mattos to deliver a special bamboo-woven portrait to President Lacalle to express her deep gratitude for supporting INBAR throughout the process and also to thank him for his contributions to the cause of bamboo and rattan.
INBAR Deputy Director General Lu Wenming, INBAR Director of External Relations and Partnerships Li Lan, Director of International Affairs of the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries Adriana Lupinacci and other relevant stakeholders also attended the meeting.
