Former Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou renewed calls on Tuesday for the construction of a port on Uruguayan territory that would give landlocked Paraguay direct Atlantic access, speaking at a business event in Santa Rita, in Paraguay's Alto Paraná department. "I will not die without truly seeing Paraguay have a sea outlet in Uruguay," he declared, adding that private investors are already scouting potential sites; Paraguayan President Santiago Peña echoed the sentiment at the same gathering. The proposal has a formal precedent — both governments signed a $300 million agreement in 2023 to develop a port in Uruguay's Soriano department — but the project has stalled, and Uruguay's current government under Yamandú Orsi has yet to issue any public position on it, leaving Paraguay, which routes all its international cargo through the 3,400-kilometre Paraguay-Paraná Waterway and has faced recurring toll disputes with Argentina, without a confirmed alternative.