In the presence of representatives of major French companies from the industrial mission visiting Argentina, Foreign Minister Faurie closed the 16th France-Argentina Business Forum at the Palacio San Martín.
In the afternoon, Foreign Minister Faurie closed the 16th France-Argentina Business Forum at the Palacio San Martín, which brought together more than 20 major French companies visiting Argentina with a view to developing investment projects and exploring business opportunities with Argentine companies.
During the visit of the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) delegation, an organization which brings together presidents and directors from major French business conglomerates, Faurie thanked "France and the people of France for their commitment to preserve their ties with and investments in Argentina".
"We encourage participants to profit from this type of events" Faurie stated this afternoon before French and Argentine businesspeople. "This is a time when we need to work hard for Argentina to prosper and we need to do it together: workers, businesspeople and, especially, the Government," he added.
Joined by the Head of the MEDEF delegation, Jean-Pierre Loubinoux, and the French Ambassador to Argentina, Pierre Henri Guignard, Faurie noted that "first we will have to –as we say in Argentina– endure the storm," but "a promising future lies ahead for Argentina and it depends on the productive sector. We, businesspeople and workers, will have to put in a great deal of effort to make it happen."
Foreign Minister Faurie then held a meeting with Guillaume Pepy, the president of the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer (SNCF), which is the state-owned railway company operating all the rail network in France, including high-speed trains.
More than 20 major French companies are part of this business mission intended to strengthen and develop investment projects and existing lines of business, as well as to disseminate new opportunities to forge ties between various sectors of the French economy and their Argentine counterparts, both in the public and private sectors.
Approximately 250 French companies conduct business in various sectors of the Argentine economy: agro-industry, automobile, hydrocarbon, hospitality, health and cosmetics, among others. French investments in Argentine currently exceed USD 2.8 billion.
The MEDEF mission follows up on a series of official visits and business delegations on both sides of the Atlantic, which began in February 2016 with the visit of former French President François Hollande to Buenos Aires and continued in January 2018 with the visit of President Mauricio Macri to Paris, where he held a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron and businesspeople from MEDEF. These high-level contacts continue strengthening economic and business ties that have historically united the two countries.
The forum, organized by the French-Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was opened by Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Raimondi and included seminars on the current economic, financial and social situation of Argentina, investment, business environments and funding sources. Finally, two working meetings on the transport and energy sectors were held.
Press Release No. 387/18
