President Alberto Fernández was satisfied this Monday for having carried “the voice of the continent” and for having called on the global North “to pay attention to the periphery” during his participation as guest president at the G7 summit.
The Head of State offered this afternoon a press conference for the Argentine media featured in the coverage of the meeting of the seven most thriving economies in the worldto which were added -on this occasion- Argentina and other developing countries.
Fernández reviewed the alternatives of the summit, gave his impressions on the approach to the Russian-Ukrainian war and its consequences on the whole world, and then devoted special attention to the review of the bilateral meetings that he carried out.
“Two months ago, when I was in Europe with (German) Chancellor Olaf Scholz and (French President Emmanuel) Macron, I expressed my concern about the situation the world was going through.and I told them that Latin America was no stranger and neither was the Caribbean,” he explained.
In that sense, he recalled having raised the need to “discuss the present situation as a world” that everyone integrates.
“From there came Foreign Minister Scholz’s proposal to invite me as president of CELAC, as president of Argentina, to invite the president of the African Union, to add India and South Africa and Indonesia, president of the G20 this year. We were able to shape that world for discuss,” he analyzed.
Regarding the activities carried out this Monday in the Bavarian castle of Elmau, Fernández said that “It was very important to be able to bring the voice of the American continent” in his capacity as head of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
“This war is causing energy prices to rise, it is making Europe lack energy and it seems to be the beginning of a famine for 300 million inhabitants,” he warned.
Among other points raised, Fernández was able to point out Argentina’s commitment “to the issue of climate change” and pointed out the injustice that the way in which this problem is treated means for many emerging countries, since “the southern hemisphere is a provider of oxygen” , he pointed out.
“We were able to tell the world our vision, and we were able to call on the G7 to pay attention to the periphery”Fernandez reaffirmed.
Since his arrival in Munich on Sunday afternoon, the Head of State held several bilateral meetings, about which he said “all were productive.”
From that agenda, he highlighted with special emphasis the meeting he held yesterday with the Indian Prime Minister, Nerendra Modi: “It was extraordinary. When we met today he told me that we have to do things together and I told him the same thing.”
On the other hand, when referring to the bilateral one with the President of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Mario Draghi, assured that with the Italian prime minister “always” there are good conversations.
“I thanked him for Italy’s support for the pending issues, such as the surcharges, which is an issue that the International Monetary Fund has to deal with.”
In addition, he said that both spoke about the possibility that “Italy invests in projects to install plants to liquefy gas” in Argentina.
“In the same sense was the talk with Scholz, who told me to put the technical teams to work,” Fernández deepened.
A separate chapter was the meeting with the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson: “I told him ‘I want to be honest with you, it is difficult for us to sit down and talk without talking about the Malvinas”.
With that exception, he reiterated that Argentina is ready to resume the dialogue in accordance with the United Nations resolutions.
In addition, he requested the reestablishment of regular flights between the islands and the Argentine mainland with the flag carrier.
