1. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan, is on an official visit to the Argentine Republic from 5 to 7 April 2017. This is Minister Balakrishnan’s first visit as Foreign Minister to Latin America, and the first official visit by a Singaporean Foreign Minister to Argentina. So far, Minister Balakrishnan has held a meeting with the President of the Argentine Republic, Mauricio Macri, and a working meeting with Minister Susana Malcorra. In addition, he will hold a working meeting with the Minister of Modernization, Andrés Ibarra, and the Minister of the Treasury, Nicolás Dujovne. He will also deliver a speech entitled “Building links between Latin America and Asia in an uncertain world” at the Argentine Council on Foreign Relations (CARI).
2. During their meeting, Minister Malcorra and Minister Balakrishnan reaffirmed the warm and longstanding friendship between Argentina and Singapore, and underscored both countries’ commitment to promote and strengthen bilateral ties. The Ministers welcomed the reopening of the Embassy of the Argentine Republic in Singapore and the appointment of a new Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Argentina as important steps in this regard. The Ministers also expressed their commitment to strengthen trade and investment bonds, as well as their interest in broadening and enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest such as educational and cultural exchanges, people-to-people ties, and joint technical training. In this regard, Minister Balakrishnan extended an invitation for Argentina to participate in the Latin Asia Business Forum to be held in Singapore on 29 September 2017.
3. Recognizing the importance of fostering closer cooperation between their respective regions, the Ministers welcomed Argentina’s interest in increasing its presence in Southeast Asia, and Singapore’s interest in stepping up its engagement of Latin America. The Ministers also welcomed Argentina’s interest in acceding to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and discussed ways to promote dialogue and cooperation between ASEAN and MERCOSUR. In this regard, at Minister Malcorra’s invitation, Minister Balakrishnan will also be meeting Mercosur Foreign Ministers Aloysio Nunes Ferreira of Brazil, Eladio Loizaga of Paraguay and Rodolfo Nin Novoa of Uruguay, in order to discuss prospects for greater engagement between Singapore, Mercosur and ASEAN.
4. Ministers Malcorra and Balakrishnan exchanged views on recent global developments and expressed satisfaction at the good coordination between Argentina and Singapore at the international level and in multilateral fora, as well as at the importance of continued close consultation on issues of common interest. The Ministers also discussed areas of potential cooperation by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by Argentina’s Presidency Pro tempore of Mercosur and 2018 Presidency of the G20, as well as Singapore’s Chair of ASEAN in 2018.
Press release No. 116/17
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