Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero will lead an Argentine trade mission to the Middle East starting this Monday with the aim of diversifying trade with that region, as well as to boost exports and position our country as a relevant actor in the area of energy transition, space science, biotechnology, information and communication technology.
In a statement, the Foreign Ministry indicated that “one of the main goals of the tour will be to diversify Argentina’s bilateral trade with United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, currently focused on food exports, through the dissemination of the country’s capabilities in sectors such as energy transition (including hydrogen and lithium technologies), satellite industry, knowledge economy and food security.”
Within the program of activities, the first destination of the tour will be the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where meetings will be held with the main Emirati firms and investment funds.
This Monday, at 9 UAE time, Cafiero will hold a working breakfast with presidents of companies and entities from that country, followed by a one-hour “networking” event between Argentine and local companies.
Palacio San Martín highlighted that “in both meetings the focus will be placed on disseminating Argentine technological capabilities in the areas of energy transition, software industry and digitization; satellite industry, biotechnology applied to human health and food safety, and also on exploring the development of joint projects with local counterparts”.
Nineteen companies from the UAE confirmed their participation in the event, including Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirates and Etihad airlines, in addition to firms from sectors such as space, food and biotechnology.
The Foreign Ministry indicated that “Cafiero will also meet with his counterpart from the UAE, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where they will explore” ways of expanding and diversifying bilateral trade, and ways of energy cooperation, in terms of the knowledge economy, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, cultural cooperation and defense”.
In addition, the foreign minister will represent the country on the occasion of the celebration of the Argentine national day at the Dubai Expo 2020, where he will be received by the UAE Minister for Tolerance and Coexistence, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan.
The Argentine Pavilion of the Dubai Expo was visited by more than 468,000 people, and since its inauguration it has totaled more than 900 tango shows and 1,650 hours of audiovisual content projected in the immersive room of the pavilion, reflecting the productive Argentina and its exportable offer; scientific Argentina and its main achievements; the tourist destinations of the provinces, and the cultural diversity of our country.
The exhibition is a global mega-event organized under the auspices of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE) that takes place between October 1, 2021 and March 31, 2022 in which 192 countries, multilateral organizations, institutions academics and companies.
Palacio San Martín pointed out that “subsequently, On March 16 and 17 in Saudi Arabia, the trade mission of our country will hold business rounds with local businessmen. Saudi Arabia in 2021 was the second destination for exports behind Iran (for a total of US$ 851,288 million); and the United Arab Emirates the third (US$ 773.5 million), with crude oils and grain corn being the best-selling products.
Other notable exports to the region are soybean meal and oil; beef, barley grain, seamless tubes and yerba mate. Saudi Arabia has several projects aimed at agricultural production with varying degrees of progress in Mendoza, Córdoba and Santa Fe through the Saudi Fund for Development, an agency of the Saudi government that finances social and infrastructure projects in developing countries.
The national delegation is made up of the head of Argentine diplomacy, accompanied by governors Gerardo Zamora (Santiago del Estero), Raúl Jalil (Catamarca), Jorge Capitanich (Chaco), Gerardo Morales (Jujuy), and Ricardo Quintela (La Rioja). .
The delegation is also made up of the Ministers of Productive Development, Matías Kulfas; Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmus; Tourism and Sports, Matías Lammens; the secretaries of International Economic Relations, Cecilia Todesca Bocco, and Tourism Promotion, Yanina Martínez; the Chief of Staff of the Foreign Ministry, Luciana Tito; the General Secretary of the Federal Investment Council, Ignacio Lamothe, and representatives of more than 35 companies.
