The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmus, who will be part of the delegation that will accompany President Alberto Fernández to the Marambio Base in Antarctica tomorrow, said on Tuesday that Argentina is expected to be “the head of access to Antarctica”.
“The idea is that Argentina has to be the head of access to Antarctica,” said the minister in an interview with Radio Provincia and recalled: “Ushuaia is the closest city to the Antarctic peninsula, where the only economic activity that is allowed is tourism.”
In this sense, he stressed that it is sought that “Ushuaia becomes, with the creation of a logistics pole, the head of tourist trips to Antarctica and polar ships that go to investigate Antarctica.”
The President’s visit will take place within the framework of Argentine Antarctic Day, which is commemorated on February 22, and, in addition to Filmus, he will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, Defense Ministers Jorge Taiana; Social Development, Victoria Tolosa Paz; the secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona; and the spokesperson for the Presidency, Gabriela Cerruti.
Filmus reported that the president will make announcements regarding investments for the construction of a research institute between different organizations, among which he mentioned the Conicet, the University of Tierra del Fuego, with the government of the province of the same name and the Municipality of Ushuaia.
Asked about the possibility of using Antarctica as an energy reservoir, the minister ruled out this possibility, stating that “Antarctica is not seen as an energy reservoir because the Antarctic Treaty agreement indicates that the countries that are going to have research bases have to preserve the territory”whereby “There is no provision in the Antarctic treaty that there is any expectation of economic exploitation.”
“The main objective of the nations that signed the Antarctic Treaty is to preserve the environment, the reserves and the diversity of Antarctica and to investigate to generate the conditions for sustainability,” highlighted Filmus, noting that “research in Antarctica plays a central role “.
In this sense, he indicated that “Argentina deploys very important research resources in the South Atlantic and Antarctic in science and technology, with a very important objective of sovereignty”.
