Over the past decade, Uruguay has earned a reputation as a prudently managed economy. Export-driven, it has performed relatively well even when its much larger neighbours and trade partners, Brazil and Argentina, have been mired in recession. International confidence in the country’s sovereign debt has also improved over the past few years as a result of Uruguay diligently meeting its obligations by pre-funding interest payments a year in advance in the capital markets; it can also rely on loans from multilateral organisations.
The Banker spoke to economy and finance minister Danilo Astori at April’s annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank, where he discussed Uruguay’s recent achievements and its future focus.