Argentina participated in the XXXIII Annual General Meeting of the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs -COMNAP-, which aims to develop and promote best practices in the management of support for scientific research in Antarctica.
During the meeting held on July 14, members approved Argentina's candidacy to host the COMNAP Annual General Meeting in 2024, an event that will be held in coordination with Chile, who will host the meeting of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR) that same year.
Furthermore, Argentine National Director for the Antarctic, Patricia Ortúzar, was elected vice president of COMNAP's Executive Committee until 2024.
Secretary for Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Filmus, stated that “this possibility demonstrates our country's firm commitment to strengthen the Antarctic Treaty System and contributes to consolidating Argentina's reputation as a leading actor in international Antarctic forums. At the same time, it reflects the aligned and coordinated work being undertaken with Chile, as strategic partners in Antarctic affairs”.
During the meeting, parties exchanged information on the activities that their countries carry out in Antarctica and, in particular, on those actions that promote support for scientific work and the protection of the Antarctic environment. They also exchanged information about the health protocols that the members will implement to continue preventing the entry of COVID-19 into the Antarctic continent. In this context, Argentina and Chile provided information on the planning of operations in the ports of Ushuaia and Punta Arenas for next summer, as Antarctic Gateway Cities.
To address the various topics on the agenda, the Argentine delegation consisted of a multidisciplinary team of officials specializing in diplomacy, science, environmental management and logistics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as from the Joint Antarctic Command (COCOANTAR) of the Ministry of Defense.
At this meeting, along with the election of Ortúzar, Antonio Quesada (Spain) was also elected as President of the Executive Committee and Dragomir Mateev (Bulgaria), for another Vice Presidency.
In turn, Turkey was admitted as a new member of COMNAP and this was the first meeting that Colombia participated as an observer. Thus, now there are 37 countries participating in this Council (31 Members and 6 observers).
Finally, it was decided that the next COMNAP annual meeting will take place in Warsaw, Poland, in 2022.
