President Alberto Fernández arrived in Moscow, where on Thursday he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the start of his tour of Russia, China and Barbados, which also includes meetings with the Chinese head of state, Xi Jinpingand with the prime minister of the Caribbean country, Mia Mottley.
The Argentine president arrived at 2:14 p.m. (Argentina time) at the Moscow international airport, after leaving on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. from the Ezeiza international airport to the Russian capital on an Aerolineas Argentinas flight, accompanied by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero; the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán -who will only participate in the scale in Russia-; the governors of Río Negro, Arabela Carreras; from Buenos Aires, Axel Kicillof, and from Catamarca, Raúl Jalil; and the spokesperson for the Presidency, Gabriela Cerruti.
The diplomatic delegation is also made up of the Secretary of Sports, Inés Arrondo; Senator Adolfo Rodríguez Saá; the national deputy Eduardo Valdés; presidential adviser Cecilia Nicolini; and the mayor of José C. Paz, Mario Ishii.
The first official activity of the trip will be a private meeting followed by a working lunch with Putin in the Kremlin, on Thursday at 7 in Argentina, in the Russian afternoon.
At the Vnukovo international airport, the president was received by Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, and the Argentine ambassador in Moscow, Eduardo Zuain.
The first official activity of the trip will be a private meeting followed by a working lunch with Putin in the Kremlin, this Thursday at 7 in Argentinain the Russian afternoon.
After the meeting with Putin, both leaders will make a joint statement to the press, as scheduled.
Zuain: “The idea is to reactivate this relationship”
In statements made this Wednesday, Zuain affirmed that the meeting between the two leaders in Moscow generates “a lot of expectation and enthusiasm”, and indicated that The most important thing is that both countries “strengthen the relationship and that the teams of both governments agree on a roadmap to work on specific issues.”
“The idea is to reactivate this relationship, there will be a meeting alone between the presidents, lasting more than two hours. There are four areas to promote this relationship: health, science, technology and infrastructure,” Zuain explained in statements to radio Diez.
The ambassador maintained that the greatest challenge for Argentina is “to be able to implement the technology that Russia has in Argentina” in order “to be able to apply it to our production.”
Meanwhile, he considered that, during the term of former president Mauricio Macri, “the relationship was quite ironed” between the two countries and argued that, for this reason, now “the goal is to reactivate it again.”
“The invitation from (Vladimir) Putin to Alberto Fernández in these pandemic situations is exceptional, this shows the very good relationship between the countries,” the diplomat stressed.
Regarding the meeting between the leaders, the Russian Government reported that At this Thursday’s meeting, “the state and prospects for further development of the comprehensive strategic association” will be analyzed. between both countries.
“Argentina is one of our key partners”
The Kremlin statement published by the Russian agency Sputnik specifies that the bilateral meeting will examine the political, commercial, economic, cultural and humanitarian fields between Russia and Argentina, in addition to “the interaction in the fight against the spread of the coronavirus”.
“An exchange of views on current issues on the international and regional agenda will be maintained,” adds the official communication.
For his part, Yuri Ushakov, adviser to the Russian president, indicated that during the meeting “the prospects for cooperation in such spheres of high technology and innovation as energy, including atomic and renewable energy, the pharmaceutical industry, transport and the infrastructure.
Schedule
Finished his agenda in Russia, Fernández will leave this Thursday for Beijing at 6:30 p.m. (12:30 in Argentina), where he travels specially invited by Xi Jinping to attend the opening of the Winter Olympics, as will Putin.
On Friday, the President will participate at 3:00 p.m. (4 in Argentina), virtually, in the ceremony in which he will be awarded the Honorary Professorship from Tsinghua University.
Next, at 7:30 in Argentina, he will visit the Chinese Communist Party Museumwhere he will deliver a floral offering, take a guided tour and sign the book of distinguished visitors.
Then, at 9 o’clock and together with the ambassador to China, Sabino Vaca Narvaja, the President will attend the opening ceremony of the winter olympics which will take place at the Beijing National Stadium, known as El Nido.
At 10:30 p.m., Fernández will visit the Palace Museumlocated in the so-called Forbidden City, a complex of nearly a thousand buildings built in the early fifteenth century and until the early twentieth century was the political center of China and the residence of the emperors.
Later, according to the agenda, just 1,500 meters from there, in Tiananmen Square, he will place a wreath at Mao Zedong’s mausoleum.
Later, at 1:15 on Saturday in Argentina, the President will be received in the Great Hall of the People, where a lunch in honor of the heads of state who attend the opening of the JJ.OO.
Meanwhile, at 8:15 a.m. he will meet with the Argentine Olympic delegation in the town of Zhangjakou and at 9:00 p.m. virtual meeting with the representatives of the diplomatic missions of Latin America and the Caribbean.
While, The meeting between Fernández and Xi Jinping will take place on Sundayat 0:40 in Argentina (11:40 in China), in the Great Hall of the People.
The official activity in the Asian country will end that same day with visits to the Huawei Technology Center and the Great Wall of Mutianyu -a little more than 70 kilometers from Beijing-, before taking a flight that will take the head of state and his entourage to Bridgetown, Barbados, in the Lesser Antilles, in the Caribbean Sea.
The meeting with Prime Minister Mia Mottley will take place on Tuesday, at 8 in Argentina, and will be followed by a meeting with representatives of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
