Chinese railway experts have begun training their Uruguayan counterparts in Montevideo, as part of bilateral cooperation agreements between the two governments, the Uruguayan presidency said Wednesday.
The First International Seminar on Railway Construction and Administration is aimed to teach Uruguayan engineers a range of subjects, including railway signage equipment, communications systems usage and maintenance, the reconstruction and repair to sewage systems, and the maintenance of tunnel and track ballast.
"The foreign instructors will share their experience and knowledge to allow us to identify useful solutions," said Jorge Setelich, deputy minister of transport and public works, in a statement.
Setelich said that the seminar, which began on Monday and runs till Aug. 19, would "allow Uruguayan professionals to gain new technical skills to be applied nationwide."
For his part, Chinese Ambassador to Uruguay Dong Xiaojun said: "China enjoys a wealth of experience ... in railway construction and administration, with patented technologies of a high global level."
"We hope this seminar represents a new chapter for cooperation between China and Uruguay in terms of infrastructure, always benefiting our two peoples," he added.
Successive Uruguayan administrations have for years sought to renovate the country's rapidly aging railway infrastructure.
