On Monday, at Palacio San Martín, the ceremony to celebrate the beginning of the 2021 academic year of the Argentine Foreign Service Institute (ISEN) was held, attended by the Chief of the Private Office of the Foreign Ministry, Guillermo Justo Chaves; the Secretary for Foreign Coordination and Planning, Martín Yañez; and the director of ISEN, Victorio Taccetti.
Upon welcoming second-year students, Chaves noted that “there are very important challenges for you, as students, and for us, as officials, because you are going to be diplomats in a world that will no longer be the same. The concept of a global village is stronger than ever; what seemed to be a metaphor in the past is now a reality.”
He further stated that the pillars of Argentine foreign policy “prioritize, above all, the unyielding defence of our national interests, which gives us an opportunity not to be the hostages of either powerful countries or any kind of system that seeks to keep us prisoners.”
In addition, he asserted that “defending our national interests has enabled us to place the claim for Argentina’s unrenounceable rights to territorial integrity at the forefront, which includes the Malvinas, South Georgias, and South Sandwich Islands, and the surrounding maritime areas.”
Chaves also referred to Argentina’s multilateralism: “Our view, in light of the pre-eminence of the international community, leads us to embrace cooperation and solidarity. This position in support of multilateralism ultimately reaches other fields, such as the environment and climate change”. He also noted that “the policy on Human Rights is a State policy that is given priority in the everyday working agenda.”
As concerns regional integration, he stated that “the best way to feel stronger in this context of reheated capitalism is to gather with our sister South American nations and generate better conditions. We can see this pillar of regional integration every day in the efforts of Foreign Minister Felipe Solá and our ambassadors in the region to mend fences, enhance relations, and work like never before during our presidency pro tempore of Mercosur.”
In addition, the new director of ISEN, Victorio Taccetti, asserted that diplomats are essential in the operation of the State in terms of foreign policy and that, to operate efficiently, “coordination between the political sector, the foreign service and academia is very important.”
“You have the privilege of working to promote the greatness of our Nation, which is connected with the day-to-day life of Argentine citizens. We must help and provide tools to those who want to export, to SMEs, to those who produce art, among others. And we must also help Argentine citizens who are in trouble abroad,” he concluded.
ISEN is the organization in charge of selecting Argentine professionals to become part of the Argentine Foreign Service. It was founded in 1963 and, ever since then, it has carried out continuous and intensive work to train and consolidate a body of highly qualified professional diplomats who are internationally renowned for their training and excellence.
