Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | 8:49 p.m.
President Alberto Fernández received this Wednesday at the Casa Rosada the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece, Nikos Dendias, on an official visit to Argentina, with whom he discussed various issues on the bilateral and multilateral agenda referring to key areas such as trade, investment and cooperation in education, sports and space technology.
It is the first visit by a Greek foreign minister to Argentina and the first by a high authority from that country since 1999.
Together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, Santiago Cafiero, they discussed with Dendias the positive development of the bilateral agenda and highlighted the advances in space cooperation, which will soon materialize in the signing of an agreement between the Hellenic Space Center and the National Commission for Space Activities (Conae), reported official sources.
Both foreign ministers also signed a Cooperation Agreement in sports matters and a Declaration of Intent to Cooperate in the Field of Higher University Education, Télam published.
Regarding the economic chapter, the growth that reciprocal trade is having and the potential to increase and diversify the exchange, with a focus on the promotion of products with high added value and greater technological complexity, were highlighted.
The possibility of deepening bilateral trade in services was also highlighted, an area in which Argentina has great competitive advantages, mainly in sectors such as industry 4.0, software and computer services, satellite industry, creative industries and AgTech.
Also present at the meeting were the Greek ambassador to Argentina, Elisabeth Fotiadou; the Chief of Staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ioannis Tsaousis, and the Argentine Ambassador to Greece, Luis Azpiazu.
Interest in Argentina
After the meeting, Cafiero pointed out that Argentina “is attracting a lot of interest with the strategic minerals lithium, copper also, of course, oil and gas, and also, naturally, what has to do with new fuels. In this case what green hydrogen represents as an alternative fuel and that Europe is also demanding”.
“Of course, we carried out an agenda that included a different perspective regarding the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur. Based on that, we were also talking about the intensity of the negotiations that we have been carrying out with Argentina’s vocation of being who carries out a constructive instance with respect to the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur”, he said.
“What we are looking for, as we have raised it before, as we have raised it in Brussels, and here today, is that we want a revised agreement. But naturally we want the agreement to move forward. Of course, there are specific issues that the European Union has modified and that we want our national industry to be defended and that they not be affected by modifications that were made after the agreement was signed,” Cafiero concluded.
natural interlocutor
For his part, the Greek Foreign Minister stated: “I would like to thank my colleague, the Argentine Foreign Minister, with whom we have managed to form a great agenda that included various issues that will strengthen our political, commercial and economic relations and has also made public his commitment to support the Greek candidacies in the Permanent Security Council for Human Rights, in which Argentina has a long tradition and experience”.
“We consider that the Argentine Republic is a natural interlocutor for Greece, because it is a country that respects international law and has signed the International Convention on the Law of the Sea; and, on the other hand, there is a large Hellenic community in this country that It constitutes a bridge between the two countries. Perhaps a great geographical distance separates us, but what unites us is the cultural proximity of Argentina with Europe,” said Dendias.
