The Foreign Minister provided details on the 2nd High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation, to be held next week.
Today at the Palacio San Martín, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie underscored the importance of international cooperation as "a powerful foreign policy tool, which mobilizes human, economic and technological resources and fosters the development of our countries," at the presentation of the 2nd High-Level United Nations Conference on South-South Cooperation (BAPA+40), to be held in Buenos Aires next week and which will be attended by Presidents, Foreign Ministers and representatives of almost 200 nations.
"For 40 years, Argentina has done a lot of work in this field, but in the last three years it has clearly become increasingly involved in cooperation as an instrument. We have more than 165 technical cooperation projects in very different fields in several countries," Faurie stated today. At the event, he was joined by Jorge Chediek, Director of the UN Office for South-South Cooperation and Ana Ciuti, Director for International Cooperation of the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
The multilateral Conference, which will be held on 20-22 March in Buenos Aires at the Exhibition and Convention Centre (CEC), is the most important conference on South-South Cooperation. It will revolve around the sharing of experiences and knowledge with a view to strengthening the capabilities of the states. Representatives of 193 UN member states, international organizations and approximately 1500 participants will attend the Conference.
Faurie made reference to the main tools for integration at the international level, "which are three: political and economic ties and, maybe less known than the others, cooperation."
The Argentine Foreign Minister stated that "cooperation understood as technical assistance is not about solidarity assistance but about job creation, and it is associated with a concrete effect, which is to train people while offering Argentine producers and researchers the opportunity to develop and promote Argentina's production. This benefits the people."
Argentina is an international leader in the field of cooperation. It is currently working on projects with 40 countries from Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia in a number of areas such as agro-industry, bio-technology, human rights, environment and production technology, among others.
"When we offer India vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease by way of technical training, this means that an Argentine laboratory is producing the vaccines that will go to India; when we talk about cooperation for the cultivation of quinoa, we are selling quinoa seeds that have been treated in Argentina," Faurie stated while listing several examples of cooperation projects with countries as diverse as Vietnam, Egypt, Angola, Bolivia, Cuba and Colombia, and which involve Argentine work.
Professionals and technical staff from internationally recognized Argentine institutions such as INTA, INTI, INCUCAI, EAAF, SENASA, together with Ministries, Universities, Provincial Governments, our Embassies and Consulates carry out the initiatives. The multiple projects represent an opportunity for global leadership in knowledge and technology-intensive fields for a country like Argentina.
In turn, Chediek underscored that "South-South cooperation is a key element that is increasingly necessary in the framework of the new 2030 global agenda, because the current development patterns are not sustainable and we need a new way to improve the living conditions of citizens.
Press Release No. 096/19
