Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro surprised onlookers in the Uruguayan capital Tuesday by getting behind the wheel of his state car, in a nod to his former job as a bus driver.

Maduro, who is on an official visit to Uruguay, also received the key to the city from Mayor Ana Olivera.

The president drove himself to the headquarters of Urutransfor, the once-failing maker of industrial transformers in Uruguay that was rescued and is now managed by its employees. He toured the facilities there, accompanied by Uruguayan President Jose Mujica.

Earlier in the day, Maduro signed a contract with Urutransfor, to have the company supply transformers for the metro (subway) system in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.

Later, the political heir to Venezuela's late President Hugo Chavez received the city key to Montevideo in dedication to his mentor, who died last March.

"It is the first time that I come without him," Maduro told the gathering, while thanking the city for the honor, saying the key "opens all doors and hearts."

"We have ahead of us other common goals, such as the construction of a socially just Latin America," he said.

Maduro is expected to visit the headquarters of Uruguay's central workers union, the PIT-CNT, later Tuesday, and leaves for Argentina Wednesday.