Today, Foreign Minister Mondino held a number of bilateral meetings on the margins of the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting. First, she met with the Head of the Swiss Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Guy Palmerin, with whom she discussed the most relevant issues on the common agenda, as well as global matters. In addition, they analyzed the status of the negotiations for the MERCOSUR-EFTA Agreement, since Switzerland is one of the members of that European bloc, together with Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
After meeting with OECD Deputy Director of Legal Affairs Gita Kothari to address the technical aspects of the accession process and the need for coordination at both the national and provincial levels, Foreign Minister Mondino met with Valdis Dombrovskis, Trade Commissioner and Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, to whom she conveyed the importance of further deepening bilateral economic-trade and investment ties and improving the results of the trade balance in terms of goods and services. She also reiterated the importance of concluding the long-delayed MERCOSUR-EU Agreement.
Furthermore, Mondino met with Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, Nir Barkat, with whom she discussed the state of bilateral trade relations between both countries. The Foreign Minister expressed Argentina’s interest in promoting trade in services and the internationalization of Argentine startups, as well as in boosting cooperation and complementation between Argentine and Israeli tech companies.
In addition to the meetings with political authorities, Foreign Minister Mondino also met with Christel Bories, Chair and CEO of the French group Eramet, a leading company in the metals and alloys sector with investments in Argentina. Since 2012, the Eramet Group has been developing a lithium extraction project in Centenario-Ratones Salt Flat, Province of Salta, through its branch in Argentina, Eramine Sudamérica. The project is currently in its early stage: the building of a plant to produce 24,000 tons of lithium carbonate (LCE1) annually, for at least 40 years. The required investment is estimated at USD 600 million, 210 million of which have already been disbursed.
