Today, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra presided over the relaunch of the National Committee on Asia-Pacific (CONAPAC), aimed at establishing further and stronger ties between Argentina and this strategic region. "This is an instrument that will enable us to know each actor's perspectives to develop an integrated and comprehensive strategic vision so as to make progress in our relationship with the Asia-Pacific region," Malcorra stated.
"The 21st century is the century in which Asia is making its comeback. While it is a very large region which accounts for more than half of the territory and the population in the world, the region also comprises several countries: there are several cultures within these countries. So we have to be capable of making a very detailed, differential analysis for Argentina’s business sector and society at large to know what opportunities this market has to offer. CONAPAC is the ideal environment to carry out this task," the Foreign Minister underscored.
"Latin America is bounded by two oceans and is thus called upon to integrate itself into the world through those two oceans. We have to find instruments that enable us to do that. It is evident that, from Mercosur, we are also looking at this integration process with great interest," Malcorra assured, recalling President Mauricio Macri's participation as an observer in the Pacific Alliance.
CONAPAC was created by Decree No. 1378/1992 with the aim of promoting, in a coordinated manner, Argentina’s relations with the Asia-Pacific region. The Committee is based on tripartite participation by Argentine governmental, academic and business representatives, who are engaged in issues that concern the region. "It is now an irrefutable fact that the views of the government, the academic arena, the private sector and civil society are becoming integrated. This is a time at which we are assessing Argentina's positioning at a global level; and to this end, it is necessary to have a comprehensive view of how to build on our ties with the Asia-Pacific region.
Minister Malcorra was joined at the event by the President of the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini; the Director for Asia and Oceania of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Estanislao Zawels; and the President of the Asian Chamber, Rallys Pliauzer.
Press release No. 375/16.
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