"President Macri’s visit to Spain was one of our pending issues. We must relaunch and strengthen historical bonds for the future; in order to do so, we must work more closely than ever,” Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra stated, within the framework of the State Visit to Spain.
Following Macri’s speech before the extraordinary session of the Congress of Deputies, Minister Malcorra underscored interest in deepening trade and economic bonds with Spain: “We must look at the bilateral relationship in the light of the global situation: complex, convulsed, with a tendency towards protectionism. That makes Spanish companies view Argentina as a natural opportunity.”
“The fact that we are opening up infrastructure investment opportunities to the world and that we are thinking of integration of agroindustry value chains and in historically robust sectors of Spain such as engineering, construction and logistics creates enormous interest in the broadest sense, not only in traditional business investment but also in partnership opportunities. There are many Spanish and Argentine SMEs interested in forging these bonds,” Malcorra stated in an interview with Radio Continental.
“Both Spain and Europe are looking at us with great interest. It is essential that the agreement between Mercosur and the European Union be consolidated and move forward so as to at least obtain political ratification in 2017. As part of the world closes, Europe views this as crucial. We have a major responsibility,” the Minister added.
Malcorra participated in a debate at the Royal Elcano Institute, a research and political think tank presided over by former Spanish presidents, where she referred to negotiations between Mercosur and the European Union. “We have the chance not only in Mercosur but also in the EU to settle this debt. There is definite conviction on the part of Mercosur and an understanding from the EU so that we may jointly find a solution at the political level while at the same time allowing ourselves graduality in implementation,” the Foreign Minister explained.
Press release No. 044/17
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