Argentina – Belgium: Busy schedule of bilateral meetings
In the context of the official visit to Argentina by Princess Astrid, who is heading an economic and investment mission of the Kingdom of Belgium, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie held a bilateral meeting today at the Palacio San Martín with his Belgian counterpart, Didier Reynders, with whom he reviewed the most important issues on the bilateral agenda, as well as current regional and global affairs.
Yesterday, Faurie welcomed Princess Astrid, who arrived in Argentina alongside a delegation of over 130 Belgian businesspeople representing a hundred companies from a wide range of industries (pharmaceuticals, healthcare, biotechnology, transport and logistics, financial services, agro-business, energy and clean technology, and equipment and machinery, among others).
This morning, the Foreign Ministers highlighted the fact that Argentina and Belgium share interests in different areas, such as the development of non-conventional renewable energy sources like biomass, port infrastructure and logistics, city modernization and sustainable development. They also ratified the trust of Belgian companies in Argentina and investment announcements in the amount of over USD 1.3 billion.
In 2017, bilateral trade amounted to USD 767 million, with Argentine good exports in the amount of USD 405 million and imports for USD 362 million. While Faurie and Reynders agreed that such amount is significant, it is below the trade level to which the two governments aspire, the potential of the two countries and existing concrete opportunities for complementarity and joint projects.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry also organized a working breakfast on economic issues at the Palacio San Martín and then a networking meeting, which were attended by Princess Astrid; the Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister, Daniel Raimondi; the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nicolás Dujovne; the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Horacio Reyser; the Secretary for Transport Management, Hector Krantzer; the President of the Argentine Investment and Trade Promotion Agency, Juan Pablo Trípodi, and the Vice-President of the Argentine Industrial Union, Daniel Funes de Rioja.
Raimondi stated that this mission constitutes an opportunity for increased investment and business development in areas of shared interest, such as infrastructure, port logistics, mining, renewable energy, urban modernization, and agro-business, among others.
Foreign Minister Reynders in turn underscored the high level of the mission and the wide range of sectors represented, stressed that "all these companies are strongly interested in investing and doing business in Argentina" and reiterated Belgium's support for Argentina's OECD membership bid and for a prompt conclusion of the MERCOSUR-European Union partnership agreement.
Minister Dujovne addressed the main institutional and economic reforms carried out in Argentina and the many investment opportunities offered by Argentina, which are worth USD 250 billion and in which the Belgian businesspeople showed great interest.
Finally, a seminar on Social Dialogue in a changing labour market was held in the presence of Princess Astrid; the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister, Kris Peeters; the Argentine Minister of Labour, Jorge Triaca; the Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister, Daniel Raimondi, and the Director of the ILO Country Office for Argentina, Pedro Oliveira.
Press Release No. 272/18
