Uruguay celebrated its National Day at Expo Osaka 2025

The Osaka 2025 World Expo welcomed Uruguay this week as the star of one of its most essential days: Uruguay’s National Day. The date, officially celebrated on Tuesday, June 17, marked the high point of a busy schedule that will continue until June 19, led by the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti.

The delegation is made up of officials from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Transport and Public Works, the Embassy of Uruguay in Japan, Uruguay XXI, the National Development Agency (ANDE), the National Development Corporation (CND), the National Logistics Institute (Inalog), the National Meat Institute (INAC), the National Wine Institute (Inavi), and representatives from the private sector, such as the Garzón, Mederos, CASMU, CERES, Global Medical Solutions, Luxtourism, Oji Holdings, ASOLUR, Olivares de Santa Laura, Polanco Caviar, Punta del Este Internacional, Unión de Exportadores del Uruguay, Vaquería del Este, and Vicuari Capital wineries.

Uruguayan participation was made possible thanks to the joint efforts of the Uruguayan commissioner for Expo Osaka, Benjamín Liberoff, and the Uruguay XXI team, who organized this mission.

From the outset, the delegation deployed a comprehensive strategy to strengthen ties with Japan and promote Uruguay as a reliable partner for trade and investment. As a prelude to Uruguay Day, on Monday 16, Fratti, accompanied by the deputy director of Uruguay XXI, Martín Mercado, and Ambassador Victoria Francolino, held a key meeting with officials from JETRO, Uruguay XXI’s counterpart agency in Japan. The conversation allowed for a deeper exploration of the bilateral agenda, focusing on agribusiness, technology, and sustainable trade, among other topics.

That same day, Uruguay XXI and JETRO Osaka organized the business seminar “Why Uruguay?” Minister Fratti gave a speech before a distinguished delegation of Japanese businesspeople highlighting Uruguay’s strategic vision and commitment to sustainability. “Our contribution reflects our national values of respect for life and the environment, as well as the implementation of clean technologies and responsible agricultural practices,” he said.

The institutional presentation of the country at the seminar was given by Martín Mercado, deputy executive director of Uruguay XXI, who outlined the strategic reasons that position Uruguay as a reliable hub for business and innovation in Latin America. His speech highlighted the country’s democratic stability, renewable energy matrix, regional positioning as an exporter of food and global services, and attractive ecosystem for sustainable, technological, and high-value-added investments. He also underscored the growing ties with Japan and the presence of more than 20 Japanese companies operating in Uruguay.

Fratti recalled that Uruguay is an agro-exporting country par excellence, whose production—meat, dairy, rice, soybeans, forestry—is based on sustainable practices and certified traceability. In this context, he highlighted Japan as a strategic partner, particularly in the demanding meat market. Uruguay has positioned itself with natural and carbon-neutral meat, certified according to international standards.

A show that thrilled Osaka

Uruguay celebrated its National Day on Tuesday, June 17. It began with a traditional tea ceremony with Japanese authorities. It culminated in an emotional performance by the Quinteto Barrio Sur, led by Hugo Fattoruso and Albana Barrocas, together with candombe icons such as Mathías Silva, Wellington Silva, and Guillermo Díaz Silva (C1080), accompanied by Japanese percussionist Tomohiro Yahiro and dancers Liz Aguirre and Naomi Kromberg.

The show narrated the history of candombe in Uruguay, tracing its roots from tango and milonga to the contemporary candombe identity of Cuareim 1080. As a highlight, the audience enjoyed a performance of La Cumparsita by Hugo Fattoruso.

Fattoruso, one of the great icons of Uruguayan music, described his participation as “an honor and a responsibility.” “It gives me goosebumps,” he said before taking the stage in Osaka. For his part, Mathías Silva, heir to a drumming tradition dating back more than 150 years in Montevideo’s Barrio Sur neighborhood, said that being in Japan was “a lifelong dream come true.”

A bridge to the future: trade, human and cultural ties

During the formal ceremony on Uruguay Day, Fratti reaffirmed Uruguay’s commitment to international cooperation, multilateralism, and sustainable development. Expo Osaka 2025, under the theme “Designing the Future Society for Our Lives,” offered Uruguay a platform to showcase its renewable energy matrix (97% of electricity generation), advances in low-carbon agribusiness, and high-value technology services.

The minister and part of the delegation attended a formal lunch with top Japanese officials, including Minister of Agriculture Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, Expo Commissioner General Koji Haneda, and representatives of the Osaka government and the Japan-Uruguay Parliamentary Friendship League. In addition, official visits were made to the Japanese and Uruguayan pavilions.

The day ended with a gastronomic promotion cocktail party co-organized by Uruguay XXI, the National Meat Institute (INAC), and the National Wine Institute (INAVI). At this event, authorities and special guests could taste Uruguayan meats and wines, presented as symbols of the country’s sustainable and traceable agro-export model.

The meat cuts presented included beef tongue, a product that recently entered the demanding Japanese market. The wineries Santa Rosa, Compañía Uruguaya de Vinos de Mar, Familia Deicas, Garzón, Familia Traversa, Spinoglio, Cerro Chapeu, Finca Las Violetas, Bracco Bosca, Castillo Viejo, Bouza, Mederos, and Pisano accompanied the event.

The business meetings will continue in Tokyo on June 18 and 19 to capitalize on the visibility achieved at the Expo to attract new investments and open markets. These activities will conclude with a cocktail reception at the Hotel Ana Intercontinental organized by the Embassy of Uruguay in Japan.

“Uruguay is a country of peace and dialogue, with natural and sustainable production and a strong commitment to innovation,” Fratti emphasized. He closed with a clear message: “Uruguay extends an open invitation to Japan today: let us deepen our ties, expand trade opportunities, and build a long-term partnership.”

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Uruguay’s presence at Expo Osaka is the result of joint efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Uruguay XXI, with support from the ministries of Economy and Finance, Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Industry, Energy and Mining, Tourism, Education and Culture, Transportation, and Housing and Land Management; the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Bank of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay (BROU), the National Institute of Viticulture (INAVI) —through its sectoral brand Uruguay Wine—, the National Meat Institute (INAC) —through its sectoral brand Uruguay Beef—, Bodega Santa Rosa, Conaprole, Me vuelo, Oji Holdings, and the state-owned energy company UTE.

The delegation is also accompanied by companies and organizations such as the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU), the Uruguayan Chamber of Video Game Developers (CAVI), the Uruguayan-Japanese Chamber of Commerce, Ceibal, Correo Uruguayo, the Uruguayan Wool Secretariat (SUL), Tenfield, the Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC), and the Agency for Electronic Government and the Information and Knowledge Society (Agesic).