The chancellor Santiago Cafiero met this Tuesday in Madrid with his Spanish counterpartthe Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Jose Manuel Albares Buenowithin the framework of the tour that President Alberto Fernández began in Europe.
After the arrival of the president and his entourage in Madrid, Cafiero was received at the headquarters of the Plaza del Marqués de Salamanca by Minister Albares Bueno, with whom he advanced issues on the bilateral agenda “focused on reciprocal trade and investment” and they agreed to continue working on “other important chapters of the strategic partnership,” it was reported in a statement.
During the meeting, Cafiero highlighted “SME relations as a cross-cutting issue, given the importance they have for the Argentine economy” and also stressed that “in the Argentine production structure, this sector is a driver for development and a great generator of of work and, for this reason, we want to participate in the Plan for the Internationalization of the Spanish economy”.
The Internationalization Plan for the Spanish economy 2021-2022 was approved in May 2021 and was endowed with a fund of 4,600 million euros, and the Spanish government itself highlights that it places Latin America, and especially Argentina, as a priority region for the destination of the projects and investments, specified the Foreign Ministry.
The foreign ministers also spoke of “inclusive and sustainable development, strengthening multilateralism, human rights, care for the environment, Antarctic cooperation, the challenges of the post-pandemic (of coronavirus) and gender equality.”
They also analyzed the progress in the execution of the “Action Plan for the Deepening of the Strategic Association (PAE)” 2021-2023, a fundamental axis of the link.
The meeting took place on the same day that the president meets with his counterpart Pedro Sánchez and with King Felipe VI,
The Foreign Ministry stressed that this second official visit to Spain “reflects the excellent moment of the historical link and allows continuity to the dialogue started a year ago in Madrid, within the framework of the PAE, with concrete steps that were consolidated in reciprocal presidential visits”.
Spain is a strategic partner of Argentina, with a significant presence in the country, with 300 companies that generate more than 100,000 direct jobs, making it the second largest foreign investor.
As specified, Cafiero and Albares Bueno also talked about “the multilateral challenges, in a delicate context for the international community”, and about the commitment that Argentina assumed in the Pro Tempore Presidency of Celac, as well as when presiding over the Council of Human Rights of the United Nations during 2022.
For its part, Cafiero celebrated the signing of the Declaration of Commitment with the Kingdom of Spain for the exchange of documentation from diplomatic archives aimed at clarifying serious human rights violations.
He also expressed Argentina’s willingness to deepen cooperation and the exchange of experiences in the areas of memory, truth, justice and reparation.
The ministers also ratified the commitment to promote a common agenda at the bilateral and multilateral level towards the promotion of gender equality and the rights of women and diversity.
Finally, Cafiero thanked Spain for “historic and valuable” support for Argentina’s position on the Malvinas issue, particularly in the framework of the Ibero-American Summits, and conveyed “the importance for the Argentine Government of discouraging any initiative aimed at facilitating the continuity of illegal fishing in the Malvinas Islands promoted by the illegitimate island authorities”.
