On March 30, 2023, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Mr. Daniel Erikson, co-chaired the 4th U.S. – Uruguay Bilateral Working Group with Uruguay's Minister of Defense, Dr. Javier Garcia. The meeting took place at the Pentagon.
Established in 2011, the U.S. – Uruguay Bilateral Working Group is the forum for senior leaders from the U.S. Department of Defense and Uruguay's Ministry of Defense to discuss strategic-level defense issues and identify priorities for future cooperation. To commemorate the re-launching of this forum for the first time since 2015, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Dr. Colin Kahl, joined the meeting to provide special remarks and underscore the importance of the United States defense relationship with Uruguay.
During the meeting, DASD Erikson and Minister Garcia discussed regional security, peacekeeping, Women, Peace, and Security, defense modernization plans, defense strategy, and defense support to civil authorities.