Foreign Minister Faurie and Brazilian counterpart advance bilateral and MERCOSUR issues

“At this stage in our foreign policy, we have set the goal of Argentina’s smart insertion into the world on the basis of MERCOSUR and our relationship with Brazil. At a time when some countries favour the establishment of barriers and the return to protectionism, we want to demonstrate that markets can be expanded for the benefit of all,” Foreign Minister Faurie stated this morning to the press, after being received in Brasilia by Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes.

The Foreign Minister held a working meeting with his Brazilian counterpart at the Itamaraty Palace. He was joined by the Argentine Ambassador to Brazil, Carlos Magariños, the Secretary for International Economic Relations, Horacio Reyser, the National Director for Mercosur, Roberto Salafia, and the Director for South America, Santiago Vázquez Montenegro, among other officials.

Although this was Faurie’s first bilateral working visit abroad, he claimed to feel “at home”, given that he had worked at the Argentine Embassy in Brazil for several years. The Foreign Minister affirmed that the meeting with Nunes was “very positive” and that many issues on the bilateral, regional and global agenda were addressed. “We assessed how to implement the plan of action that both Presidents agreed on last February. There has been progress but several issues are pending,” he added.

As regards the state of negotiations between MERCOSUR and the EU, the Argentine Foreign Minister stated that “it will be a milestone for our region’s international insertion”, but agreed that there are still some issues to be addressed, which is “a great challenge” and the reason why “we are working to reach an agreement on the fundamental issues by the end of the year.” “We agreed that concluding the agreement is our first priority. The 5 months ahead are very important, after more than 20 years of efforts and negotiations,” he underscored.

In terms of bilateral relations, the head of the Palacio San Martín stressed that “on the economic and trade front, we can announce that in the next few days, hopefully next week, we will sign the amendment protocol to the Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation. It is an update to the existing agreement that will mostly favour trade in services.

As regards productive integration, Faurie explained that “Argentina places importance on the establishment of a regional platform that benefits all member states and allows for the integration of global value chains,” and mentioned that Brazil is the top destination for our country’s exports.

“We also discussed issues pertaining to cross-border integration,” stated the head of Argentine diplomacy. “It is necessary to coordinate more concrete measures that allow us to take the most advantage of existing international crossing points between the two countries,” he explained, adding that “the goal is to facilitate the transit of goods and people.”

He also stated that announcements will soon be made as regards joint itinerant consular programmes so that Brazilian and Argentine nationals in different parts of the world can solve their problems or file their paperwork in common locations.

Finally, Foreign Minister Faurie stated that he and his Brazilian counterpart have exchanged “ideas on the situation in Venezuela” and agreed “once again that Venezuelans must reach a solution within a framework of respect for their Constitution and for human rights.” He also reiterated his willingness to “support the Venezuelan people in order to reach a peaceful solution to their current crisis.”

Press release No. 284/17
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