Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero assured that Argentina’s foreign policy is “realistic” and based on “a multilateral vision of the world”, referring to the presidential tour that began in Russia, continued in China and will conclude in Barbados.
“Foreign policy is realistic, the debt problem is important, but we also have to advance in macroeconomic stabilization, resolve tensions on the external front, improve export capacity and generate more foreign direct investment,” said the head of the Palacio San Martin.
Cafiero, speaking to FM Urbana Play from Madrid, on a stopover on the official delegation’s flight between China and Barbados, remarked that “The debt left by the previous government forces us to look for other financing mechanisms”. “This is how we went to the United States at the time and now we continue with this agenda, which defends the interests of Argentines,” he said.
Regarding the opposition’s questions at the time of this international tour, he assured that “the opposition is the same one that left the country on its knees, indebted with a balance of payments crisis.”
Cafiero defended the tour led by President Alberto Fernández, saying that it is part of “the multilateral vision of the world that is something that Argentina had throughout its history, except in short periods where it had more than anything unilateral approaches.”
The tour is part of “the multilateral vision of the world that is something that Argentina had throughout its history”santiago cafiero
In this regard, he cited “falling in love with (the former head of the International Monetary Fund) Christine Lagarde or coming to apologize to the king of Spain at the time was quite unworthy of our country’s foreign policy”, alluding to the foreign policy management of the Mauricio Macri administration.
In another order, Cafiero highlighted the adherence of Argentina to China’s strategic project known as the new Silk Road, and said that “what the Silk Road does is put all the Chinese financing in Argentina in an umbrella.”
He added that “there are ten works agreed with China on January 27 that have now been initialed and then there is another list of priority works that are being worked on,” which total a total planned investment amount of 23 billion dollars.
The foreign minister noted that “Argentina today exports 6 billion dollars to China and 90 percent are derived from soybeans” and stressed that “we have great potential to go” considering that “Chile exports (to China) 20 billion and Brazil more than 60 billion dollars”.
The chancellor also referred to the pre-agreement with the International Monetary Fund and its parliamentary process, pointing out that “the votes (in Congress) will be part of a debate and this is healthy for Argentines.”
“It is a credit that Macri took in five minutes and if this had passed through Congress today we would not have this problem”, he reflected.
Before a consultation, he denied changes in the cabinet of ministers after the return of the President to the country and said that the agenda that Argentina has ahead involves “reaching an agreement with the Fund, generating an instance of predictability and advancing in deploying the agenda of development, with more investments, more production and more work”.
