President Alberto Fernández will make a historic visit to the Marambio base, in the Argentine Antarctic, next Wednesday to “reaffirm the bicontinental character” of the country and highlight the “value of the scientific and environmental contribution” on the white continent, official sources explained.
The presidential trip also has the objective of “highlight the advances in logistics and infrastructure” of the Argentine Antarctic Programputting in the world limelight the “multiple policies” of management linked to “national strategic interests not only in that area but also in the South Atlantic”.
“The visit acquires a historic character because in this way the 119 years of uninterrupted presence of Argentina in Antarctica will be reaffirmed and because Fernández will be the fourth president to set foot on Antarctic soil,” the Foreign Ministry sources consulted by Télam highlighted.
The announcement was made by spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti, at her usual Thursday press conference at the Casa Rosada, in which she informed that Fernández, together with a delegation of officials, will travel to Antarctica next Wednesday and stressed that “no president has been there in the last 20 years”.
According to data from the Foreign Ministry, when Fernández’s trip came to fruition, only four presidents would have gone to Antarctica: 26 years ago it was Carlos Menem and before that Raúl Lastiri and Arturo Frondizi had traveled.
Fernández -who will travel first to Ushuaia on Tuesday- will travel accompanied by the foreign minister santiago cafiero and defense ministers Jorge Taiana; of Social Development, Victoria Toulouse Peace; and Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmusas well as by the secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Guillermo Carmona; and the spokesperson for the Presidency.
“Our country has the oldest permanent and uninterrupted presence in Antarctica, following the inauguration on February 22, 1904 of the first scientific station and meteorological observatory in the South Orcadas Islands (Orcadas Base),” explained the spokespersons for the Chancellery.
In this regard, they stressed that this “is the result of a state policy in the long term that, beyond nuances between different administrations, has been sustained over time”.
The actions of the national government aimed both at “optimizing the conditions in which the Argentine presence in Antarctica develops and at reinforcing the role of the city of Ushuaia as the gateway to Antarctica with works such as the expansion of the Ushuaia port pier that aim to provide a modern infrastructure and top quality logistics services to polar ships and tourist cruises”.
For example, In Ushuaia, the creation of the sub-headquarters of the Ministry of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Foreign Ministry was completed to “optimize the functions and services” that the Argentine State fulfills in relation to sovereignty over Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic .
Simultaneously, the creation of the Inter-Institutional Center for Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Strategic Issues (CITEAS) was promoted to generate basic and applied scientific knowledge on strategic issues in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic region.
At this week’s press conference, Cerruti also emphasized the The “significance” of the construction of three new Antarctic laboratories and two refuges, in a coordinated effort that involved the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Ministry, which are about to be inaugurated.
The spokesperson pointed out that, in parallel, the Ministry of Culture “has put a point of culture, so that Antarctica begins to be part of the country and development project that Argentina has.”
Sources from the San Martín Palace explained that the “Argentine Antarctic task has its factual manifestation in the Argentine Antarctic Program, whose central actors are the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Defense.”
Regarding the Foreign Ministry, it was indicated that Antarctic policy depends on the Secretariat of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, and from it the National Directorate of the Antarctic / Argentine Antarctic Institute (DNA / IAA) and the National Directorate of Antarctic Foreign Policy.
Meanwhile, in relation to the Defense portfolio, the Command of the Antarctic Group (COCOANTAR), the National Meteorological Service (SMN) and the Naval Hydrographic Service (SHN) report.
The sources highlighted that “Argentine Antarctic science constitutes the central axis of national Antarctic policy and, strongly linked to national strategic interests in the South Atlantic, and consolidates our sovereign presence”.
Simultaneously, they recalled that it was former President Juan Domingo Perón, through decree 17040 of June 9, 1948, who created the Antarctic and Malvinas Division, under the auspices of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, with the function of understanding everything “related to the defense of Argentine legal rights over Argentine Antarctica, Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich”.
On February 12, 1951, Perón and Evita said goodbye to the ship with the first scientific expedition in Antarctica.
In this way, the president Fernández will travel to Antarctica “flying the historical flags of Perón and with the green agenda for sustainable development,” they emphasized at the San Martín Palace.
For this reason, they stressed the importance of “understanding the geopolitical decision of Alberto Fernández to go in person to value Antarctica in all its facets, diplomatic, defense, science and technology.”
