Uruguay delegation visits Parliament

Uruguay delegation visits Parliament
The Governor-General accompanied the Uruguay delegation on a visit to Macgregor Primary School in the ACT.

The Parliament of Australia welcomed a delegation from the Uruguay House of Representatives, led by the Speaker, Mr José Carlos Mahia.

The Presiding Officers welcomed the delegation with an official luncheon. The delegation also met with the Foreign Minister Julie Bishop MP, Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Joel Fitzgibbon MP and representatives from the Joint Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee.

The Governor-General accompanied the Uruguay delegation on a visit to Macgregor Primary School. Following a visit to Uruguay in 2016 by His Excellency Sir Peter Cosgrove, a Sister School program was established between Macgregor Primary School in Canberra and the Escuela 190 “Australia” school in the capital Montevideo. Throughout 2017 students from Macgregor Primary have been participating in activities to celebrate Uruguayan language and culture. 

Whilst in Canberra, the delegation also met with officers from the Department of Social Services to discuss the viability of a reciprocal pension payments system between Australia and Uruguay.

It was a productive week for the delegation, who also travelled to Melbourne and Sydney, meeting with state parliamentarians, business leaders, academics and members of the Uruguay community in Australia.