Argentina in Pacific Alliance Summit // Argentina participated as observer. Advances in establishing closer relations with MERCOSUR

Today, the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Horacio Reyser, participated in the Meeting of the Council of Ministers with the Observer States of the Pacific Alliance.

Reyser highlighted Argentina’s proactive role in international fora, as host country of the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference and as G20 Presidency in 2018, and expressed Argentina’s interest in fostering closer relations between MERCOSUR and the Pacific Alliance.

“Given the complex international stage, Argentina and the region have an opportunity to work on a joint trade and financial agenda for integration into the world,” he stated. “Argentina is assuming an active role in fostering closer relations between the Pacific Alliance and Mercosur, as it considers them two of the most dynamic integration mechanisms in the region,” the Secretary stated.

Reyser participated in a panel on capital flows and investment opportunities alongside the Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Finance, Treasury and Public Credit of Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, United Kingdom and Switzerland. On the occasion, he stated that Argentina has already undergone a period of isolation from the world that led to missed development opportunities.

In this regard, he explained that, since the beginning of President Macri’s administration, “our government is devoted to confidence-building policies by focusing on three major pillars: a smart insertion into the world by using Mercosur as a platform, by actively participating in international fora such as the WTO and the G20, and by developing a plan of action with the OECD.”

Secretary Reyser also stressed that “we are working towards becoming an open country with clear rules, through economic and financial normalization, the return to international capital markets and a tax amnesty on funds which account for 20% of our GDP and which may enter the financial system.” He also highlighted the willingness to create “legal certainty for investors” with policies such as the promotion of “the public-private partnership law”.

Looking forward, he underscored the most important economic and financial initiatives that the government will seek to implement, “such as the law on capital market and tax reform, with a focus on the next 20 years.”

“There is a great opportunity for Argentina if we do things well. For example, the issuance of corporate bonds accounts for only 5% of our country’s GDP, while that figure in many countries of the Pacific Alliance and the region ranges from 25% to 35%. Our market capitalization amounts to approximately 8% of our GDP, whereas in other markets it accounts for over 25%. Therefore, each of these financial instruments offers a USD 100 billion opportunity,” he concluded.

Press release No. 269/17

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