The day before the General Debate at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra gave details about the activities that will be conducted this week in New York.
“We are working on multiple issues and telling the world that Argentina not only wants to become integrated, but it also wants to be part of the solutions needed in today’s world. This will be the main topic in the address that President Mauricio Macri will deliver tomorrow”, stated Malcorra in an interview with Radio Continental.
“President Macri is taking advantage of his visit to New York, not only to engage in intense activity at the United Nations, but also to carry out a very busy agenda in relation to the private sector in general, in an attempt to make progress on the constant search for investment and trade opportunities”, remarked Malcorra a few hours before President Marci’s address to the General Assembly.
QUESTION OF THE MALVINAS ISLANDS
“I think the communiqué has not been read in full. It is not an agreement but a joint communiqué signed with Deputy Foreign Minister Duncan within the framework of the Business Forum. We also had a bilateral working meeting, in which we made progress on the issues that had been previously addressed by then Prime Minister Cameron and President Macri, including the identification of unknown soldiers buried in the Malvinas Islands. We have always said that this is an ensemble of positive, propositional, issues on which we have to work: investment, culture, research, security and the question of the Malvinas Islands”, stated Malcorra.
“The discussion about the Question of the Malvinas Islands starts with a reference to the sovereignty issue and to the agreement signed in 1989. It is crucial that both countries have acknowledged, in a Joint Communiqué, that sovereignty is part of our discussion since, lately, the approach at the UN Committee on Decolonization has been to go back to the discussion about the rights of the inhabitants of the Malvinas Islands —that is, self-determination—, thus leaving aside the issue of sovereignty, which is essential for us. In this regard, we have been able to put the issue of sovereignty back on the table”, emphasized Malcorra.
“I think that this joint declaration has been interpreted as an agreement signed by two countries that have settled all issues between them. Some issues will be operational while others will have to go through all the relevant processes, including the Congress, to be approved. We are willing to explain these issues to everyone, starting by the Congress. The Foreign Ministry has been to the Congress on many occasions to explain various issues. We have moved forward on issues which we have to work on and resolve: fishing, hydrocarbons and the interest in re-establishing air ties. None of these issues have been settled and signed”, added Malcorra.
REFUGEES
Following her address at the General Assembly High-Level Summit on Refugees and Migrants, Malcorra stated that: “We are committed to taking in 3,000 Syrian refugees. This will not happen overnight. We are working together with the provinces to fulfil our commitment. Several governors have joined the project because Syrian and Lebanese populations have a strong presence in their provinces so they want to take part in it. We are working with civil society, churches and the Islamic Centre.
“We are also expanding the plan launched by the government of former President Cristina Kirchner, called the Syria Plan. We are trying to develop a Call-upon-Argentina Plan. It used to have certain restrictions but we are now expanding it to include associations and churches, offering other possibilities to those calling upon our country for the purpose of increasing the number of refugees admitted into our country”, explained Malcorra.
“President Macri has formed a multiministerial cabinet headed by the Chief of Cabinet, which also has a working group with the aim of covering all areas, all of which has been established in a ratifying decree. We are committed because we feel that Argentina is a country of immigrants and refugees. It is difficult to find a person of my generation whose grandparents or great-grandparents did not come to Argentina fleeing war or famine. We believe that this is the moment to set the example and demonstrate that Argentina is also part of the solution to such a serious problem”, concluded Malcorra.
Press Release No. 310/16
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