The Secretary of the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Ambassador Daniel Filmus, held a virtual working meeting with Ambassador Aldo Cassinelli, Director of Strategic Planning of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Chile, to exchange opinions on future cooperation activities of the Argentine-Chilean Binational Commission on Southern Marine Scientific Research.
The Ambassadors reviewed the work of the Commission's scientists and technicians, including the future carrying out of a second joint scientific campaign, and of seasonal campaigns on small oceanographic vessels, the installation of fixed measurement equipment, and the storage, exchange and joint analysis of the data obtained by each country.
They recalled the excellent experience of the first scientific campaign that both countries carried out in the Beagle Channel, aboard the research vessel Victor Angelescu, of the National Institute for Fisheries Research and Development of Argentina (INIDEP in the Spanish acronym), which was a milestone in the development of the southern integration of both countries through scientific research on the effects of climate change in a strategic region.
Among the ideas exchanged during the meeting, which took place on September 10, Ambassador Filmus presented the possibility of incorporating the Meteorological Services of the two countries into the work of the Commission in order to exchange data and promote technological developments that contribute to generate greater knowledge regarding the effects of climate change in the region.
Filmus and Cassinelli agreed on the benefits of these bilateral cooperation activities for local communities through the deepening of knowledge of the oceans and agreed to organize scientific workshops and dissemination activities in the southern zone, particularly in Ushuaia and Punta Arenas, between November 2020 and March 2021.
The purpose of the Binational Commission is to strengthen and facilitate permanent bilateral cooperation in the subantarctic areas of both countries and to advance a common scientific agenda to contribute to the conservation of the natural resources of the Beagle Channel and marine ecosystems, as well as to know and combat the effects of climate change.
The next meeting of the Commission will be held next November.
