Uruguay Day in Rio Brings Together More Than 150 Business and Government Leaders

Rio de Janeiro hosted another edition of Uruguay Day in Brazil on August 11, bringing together more than 150 business leaders, investors, government officials, and representatives of institutions from both countries. Organized by Uruguay XXI in collaboration with the Consulate General of Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro, the event was held at the Theatro Municipal as part of Uruguay Week in Brazil.

The program focused on opportunities in investment, trade, and tourism, as well as Uruguay’s ability to serve as a regional business hub and provider of services. It also included a cultural component supporting Uruguay Country Brand’s work to project a consistent international image across trade, investment, tourism, and culture.

Participants included José Carlos Mahía, minister of education and culture; Ana Claudia Caram, deputy minister of tourism; Rodolfo Nin Novoa, Uruguay’s ambassador to Brazil; Pablo Caggiani, president of the National Public Education Administration; Alejandro Mongrell, Uruguay’s consul general in Rio de Janeiro; Mariana Ferreira, executive director of Uruguay XXI; and Martín Mercado, the agency’s deputy executive director. Nin Novoa opened the program by placing the gathering in the context of bilateral relations and the potential to deepen ties between the public and private sectors.

Attendees included representatives of Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, business associations and foreign trade organizations, investment funds, BTG Pactual, Invest.Rio, Rio de Janeiro International Airport, the governments of Rio de Janeiro and Niterói, universities, and organizations representing tourism, agriculture, technology, education, legal services, the audiovisual industry, wine, and wine tourism. The mix of participants brought together perspectives from both established and emerging areas of bilateral cooperation.

The main panel, “Uruguay: A Strategic Business Destination,” was moderated by Brazilian journalist Renata Flores. Participants included Caram, Ferreira, and Siqueira Castro Advogados Senior Partner Carlos Roberto Siqueira Castro. They discussed the competitive advantages of Uruguay’s economy, including legal certainty, macroeconomic stability, and tax incentives available under the Free Zones Law and the Investment Promotion Law.

Bilateral trade between Brazil and Uruguay currently totals approximately US$5 billion a year, and Brazil is Uruguay’s second-largest market for goods exports. Brazil’s foreign direct investment stock in Uruguay stands at US$4.4 billion. More than 100 Brazilian-owned companies operate in the country across sectors including agribusiness, financial services, retail, technology, and tourism.

Ferreira said the gathering reflected growing confidence among Brazilian businesses in Uruguay’s business environment. “The event offered an opportunity to highlight Uruguay’s stability and its potential as a strategic business partner for Brazil. Since 2024, Brazil has been the leading source of investment inquiries received by the agency, reflecting investor demand for legal certainty, predictability, and an efficient platform from which to expand regional operations and services,” she said.

Ferreira also presented findings from a Bloom Consulting study that ranked Uruguay as the highest-rated among the five country brands assessed in Brazil. The research found that respondents associated Uruguay with nature, culture, quality of life, and its range of products and services. Economic and political stability, infrastructure, and connectivity were also viewed positively.

Those perceptions were reflected in commercial and investment interest. Ninety percent of respondents said they would consider buying Uruguayan products, while 76% of those surveyed in Rio de Janeiro expressed interest in investing in the country—the highest rate among the three regions included in the study.

Caram highlighted the government’s strategy to position Uruguay in higher-value tourism segments and encourage sustainable development. “Uruguay is a country on a human scale, and we seek to provide certainty to those who choose to visit or invest. Brazilian tourist arrivals rose 4.4% in the first half of the year and accounted for 12% of all international arrivals,” she said.

Siqueira Castro added a legal perspective to the discussion. “Uruguay has established itself as a business hub offering a high degree of legal and institutional certainty, along with an efficient regulatory and tax framework for Brazilian investment,” he said.

Earlier that day, Ferreira and Uruguay XXI Investment Manager Alejandro Ferrari presented investment opportunities to clients and business leaders convened by Siqueira Castro. The session offered prospective investors and business advisers a more focused setting for discussion ahead of the evening program.

Uruguay Day concluded with a networking session and a tasting of Uruguayan wines, with support from the Ministry of Tourism and Uruguay Wine–INAVI. The event ended with a raffle for tickets to a September 3 concert at the Theatro Municipal by three-time Grammy Award winner and Uruguay Country Brand Ambassador Gustavo Casenave.

By combining economic promotion with tourism and culture, the event provided a forum for direct engagement with Brazilian investors, business leaders, and policymakers. For Uruguay XXI, it forms part of a long-term strategy in Brazil, one of Uruguay’s priority markets for trade, investment, and business internationalization.