Today, the Argentine Foreign Minister, Susana Malcorra, met with the President of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) and Minister-President of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, Maria Luise (Malu) Dreyer, at the Palacio San Martín. Furthermore, Argentine officials and a large delegation of German businesspersons held a bilateral business Forum.
In a press conference, Malcorra underscored that both countries are already “working on a State-to-State and Government-to-Government cooperation scheme, and the private sector is involved.”
As regards the G20, Foreign Minister Malcorra stated: “We are highly integrated with regard to the process undertaken by Germany for their G20 Summit to be held this July. What Germany does will be the basis for our G20 in 2018, so there will be continuity. Argentina will place an emphasis on employment, education and job training. Therefore, we will draw from Germany’s vast experience.”
Malcorra and Dreyer talked about bilateral issues and issues related to Mercosur and the EU, and about cementing bonds at all levels. They also reviewed the broad agenda of high level visits launched in 2016, whose highest point will be the visit of Chancellor Angela Merkel. This visit evidences Germany’s support for the new stage undergone by our country.
For her part, Dreyer stated: “We talked about the rapprochement of our bilateral relations, which we view as highly positive. We want to strengthen the bilateral relations between Germany and Argentina, and between Argentina and the Federal State of Rhineland Palatinate. There are very important processes relating to Mercosur and the EU: the two parties have a strong political will to close an agreement by the end of the year.”
“Economic relations are important, but it is also necessary to consider exchange between our Parliaments, professional training, good employment, the social situation,” said Malu Dreyer.
When closing the bilateral business Forum, Malcorra stated: “The business sector always states that predictability is the mainstay of having good relations, specially with regard to trade and investments. We very well know that a high price is paid for unpredictability.
That is why we, the government, have to build up trust and demonstrate that we are making long-term commitments. We have to do this on the daily; we have to open up to the world in a smart manner and support the private sector by facilitating integration and investment processes. In order to do this, the presence of not only large but also small and medium-sized German businesses is important, because they can provide great opportunities for complementarity in several areas.”
“We have a long-standing history with Germany. A lot remains to be done – and improved. We are committed to this path that we will follow jointly,” concluded the Argentine Foreign Minister.
Press Release No. 171/17
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