Starting next Monday 30 July, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie will embark on a tour which includes official visits to Vietnam and Singapore, where he will meet with authorities from both countries with a view to strengthening economic-trade and technical cooperation and the long-standing friendship ties between Argentina and Southeast Asia.
In addition, the Foreign Minister, joined at all stages of the tour by Argentine businesspeople from several industries, will sign the accession to ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC), which constitutes a new stage in the development of ties between Argentina and member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a bloc consisting of 10 countries which account for 3,4% of global GDP and 7% of global trade.
Vietnam
In the context of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries, Foreign Minister Faurie will make an official visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on 30-31 July, where he will be received by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and will hold a bilateral meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart, Phạm Bình Minh.
The schedule of the Argentine Foreign Minister in Vietnam will also include meetings with the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nguyen Xuan Cuong, and the Minister of Industry and Trade, Tran Tuan Anh.
Given the major importance of technical cooperation in Vietnam, Faurie will open in Hanoi a Regional Workshop on Technical Cooperation in Agro-Industry, jointly organized by the Argentine Foreign Ministry and the Government of Vietnam, which will be attended by experts from member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and from the region.
The Argentine Foreign Minister will also open a Business Seminar including Argentine and Vietnamese companies.
Vietnam is the fifth destination market for Argentine exports and accounts for Argentina's second highest trade surplus. It is worth noting that the bilateral relationship has achieved great dynamism and firm development in recent years, in addition to offering ample opportunities for the future.
Singapore
Foreign Minister Faurie will then arrive in Singapore, where he will meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and on 2 August he will attend the 51st Meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Association of Sout East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and will sign the accession to ASEAN's Treaty on Amity and Cooperation (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.
The ten member countries of ASEAN account for 3,4% of global GDP and 7% of global trade. In 2016, ASEAN was the world's sixth richest economy and the world's third largest economy in Asia, after China and Japan.
The Argentine Foreign Minister will open a Business Forum which will be attended by businesspeople from both countries and will meet with managers of investment funds based in Singapore, an important investor on a global scale ranking among the top 15 investor countries.
Faurie will also meet with his Singaporean counterpart, Vivian Balakrishnan, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Chan Chun Sing, and the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Lim Jock Hoy.
On 23 July, within the context of the 13th Pacific Alliance Summit held in Puerto Vallarta, México, negotiations between MERCOSUR and Singapore were formally opened.
Press Release No. 311/18