In Singapore, the Argentine Foreign Minister met with the Prime Minister and tomorrow will be signing Argentina's accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.
After visiting Vietnam within the framework of the trip to the Southeast Asian region, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie arrived today in Singapore, where he met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and discussed several issues related to the political-economic bilateral relationship.
"A new stage in our bilateral relationship has begun. Argentina and Singapore have held fruitful ties of friendship for 44 years of shared history now. But it was not until recently that we decided to seek to fulfil our true shared potential," Faurie stated alongside a group of Argentine businesspeople from various industries that travelled with him.
As a token of this new stage in the relationship, the Argentine Foreign Minister recalled that last year Argentina reopened its Embassy in Singapore, which works as a "true agency for the promotion of all the opportunities that Argentina has to offer, especially regarding trade and investment."
He also stressed the fact that "Singapore is one of the guest countries under the Argentine G20 Presidency" and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong confirmed his upcoming visit to Argentina for the Leaders' Summit to be held in Buenos Aires at the end of the year.
Faurie also met with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, with whom he addressed the key issues on the bilateral and global agendas and exchanged diplomatic notes amending the 1997 agreement on air services, which will now enable better air links between the two countries and thus bring benefits in the field of business and tourism trips.
Both at the meeting with the Singaporean Foreign Minister and at the meeting with the Singaporean Minister for Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing, the two countries expressed the need to strengthen cooperation at all levels and help the private sector in promoting exports and boosting investment (FDI) growth in key sectors, such as infrastructure, agribusiness, energy, mining, finance, telecommunications, knowledge-based services and logistics, among others.
In addition, the Argentine Minister opened a bilateral Business Forum, which was attended by businesspeople from the two countries, and held meetings with representatives of Singaporean investment funds, including Jeffrey Jaensubhakij, the Group Chief Investment Officer of GIC (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation). Singapore is a leading country at a global scale and ranks among the top 15 investment-making countries.
Tomorrow, August 2, Faurie will attend the 51st Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a bloc comprised of 10 countries that account for 3.4% of global GDP and 7% of global trade, and within such framework he will sign the accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC).
TAC accession constitutes a new stage in the development of ties between Argentina and member countries of the bloc, and a platform to strengthen long-standing friendship ties with the region.
BACKGROUND
Singapore's market has recently opened to Argentine beef exports and a new protocol was agreed on to obtain the Halal certification. In addition, various agreements are under negotiation, including agreements on investments, double taxation avoidance and tax evasion prevention, among others.
On 11 May, the Palacio San Martín hosted the Singapore - Argentina seminar, which aimed at presenting Singapore as a gateway into Asia, especially into large markets, such as the Chinese or Indian markets.
On 23 July, in the context of the 13th Pacific Alliance Summit held in Puerto Vallarta, México, negotiations between MERCOSUR and Singapore were formally opened.
Press Release No. 314/18
