The chief of Uruguay's lower house of parliament vowed Thursday to help South Korean businesses expand their presence in the South American nation, saying their investment will play a large role in the country's development.

Anibal Pereyra, president of Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies, made the remarks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency at the National Assembly building in Seoul, stressing the Uruguayan parliament's efforts to boost bilateral trade.

"All international treaties are subject to ratification by the legislature, and Uruguay's legislature recently approved a South Korea-Uruguay investment treaty and a double tax avoidance agreement," he said. "The Uruguayan legislature will continue to work to actively support bilateral exchange and cooperation."

Pereyra, who arrived in Seoul Sunday for a six-day visit at the invitation of Assembly speaker Chung Ui-hwa, especially expressed interest in South Korea's port and shipbuilding industries.

"In Uruguay, a large-scale deep water port development project is currently under way," he said, noting that a number of South Korean firms have shown interest in it. "We plan to build a port on the Atlantic coast and are in the last stages of preparing for an international bid."

Pereyra said he visited the southeastern port city of Busan on Wednesday to study South Korea's port industry. He also said he visited a shipyard where construction is under way for a floating LNG vessel scheduled for delivery to Uruguay next year.

"South Korea and Uruguay recently concluded a series of deals aimed at helping South Korean firms enter and invest in Uruguay and strengthening exchanges in trade," he said. "As such, many South Korean businesses are carrying out development projects in Uruguay, and these projects will play a very important role in Uruguay's development." (Yonhap)