The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Santiago Cafiero, met with his counterparts from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti and Suriname in the framework of the XXII summit of foreign ministers of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) that began this Thursday in Buenos Aires and thanked them for the support that their countries provided for Argentina to assume the Pro Tempore 2022 Presidency of that regional bloc.
Cafiero also thanked those nations for their support in multilateral forums in favor of the resumption of negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the claim of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, the Foreign Ministry reported in a statement.
In the meeting with the Dominican Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez Gil, Cafiero reviewed the progress made in 2021 in promoting trade, investment and production, for which they worked together to identify sectors with commercial potential, cooperation in agricultural matters. and negotiation of sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
The foreign ministers, in this sense, highlighted the will to strengthen economic ties through a future Mercosur-Dominican Republic agreement, which was reflected in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on December 16.
In this context, a Framework Agreement for Cooperation and Technical Assistance was signed between the Ministry of Health and the National Institute for the Coordination of Ablation and Implants (Incucai) of Argentina and the Ministry of Public Health and the National Institute for Transplant Coordination ( Incort) from the Dominican Republic.
In addition to the signing of this agreement, which was carried out together with the Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, and the president of Incucai, Carlos Soratti, a Specific Agreement was signed for the development of a pediatric liver transplant program in the Dominican Republic, for the benefit of patients in that country who have a medical indication for this practice.
Cafiero also held a working meeting with the Minister of Foreign Relations and Human Mobility of Ecuador, Juan Carlos Holguín, in which they analyzed the possibilities of expanding commercial exchange.
The Argentine official, said the Foreign Ministry, conveyed Argentina’s interest in advancing with the liberalization schedule for the national automotive sector in the Ecuadorian market and discussed the different areas of bilateral cooperation in defense, legal technique and human rights.
The Argentine Foreign Minister also held a meeting with his Haitian counterpart, Jean Victor Geneus, in which the work carried out by the last Humanitarian Mission of the White Helmets to Haiti was highlighted, after the devastating earthquake that struck the country in August of the year. last.
This mission was made up of 24 Argentine volunteers, destined to provide assistance and increase the capacity of hospital care after the damage suffered as a result of the earthquake.
On the other hand, Cafiero also met during the morning with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation of the Republic of Suriname, Albert Ramdin, to discuss the possibilities of increasing and strengthening the bilateral link, as well as promoting actions meetings in regional and international organizations on various multilateral issues.
The Argentine Foreign Minister was accompanied at the meetings by the head of the Advisory Cabinet Unit, Luciana Tito; the Undersecretary for Latin American Affairs, Juan Carlos Valle Raleigh, and the Director for Central America, the Caribbean and Mexico, Gustavo Martínez Pandiani.
The bilateral meetings were held within the framework of the XXII Celac Foreign Ministers Summit that began this Thursday and will run until tomorrow in the City of Buenos Aires, with the participation of President Alberto Fernández, in an event at the Kirchner Cultural Center.
The summit will continue this Friday with the plenary session at the Palacio San Martín, where the pro tempore presidency in the hands of Argentina will be debated.
