Meeting between Foreign Minister Malcorra and JICA President

Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra held a working meeting today with the President of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Shinichi Kitaoka, during which they confirmed the excellent state of bilateral technical cooperation relations and reviewed future work opportunities.

Foreign Minister Malcorra highlighted the long history of friendship between Japan and Argentina and the place of technical cooperation within that framework, as it has continued uninterruptedly and has substantially contributed to Argentina’s development.

The Argentine Foreign Minister expressed her interest in the experience of the Japanese “One people, one product” movement, in light of the impact that its activities could have in order to dynamize regional economies and strengthen productive micro-enterprises. In that regard, the importance of the “Kaizen” project, aimed at strengthening the international competitiveness of Argentine SMEs through Japanese management technologies, was also stressed.

In particular, both parties expressed satisfaction at the current status and potentialities of the Triangular Cooperation Partnership Programme, specifically as regards the projection of joint cooperation in Latin America and new regions, such as Africa.

In this context, Kitaoka underscored the consolidation of cooperation relations between Argentina and Japan in the context of the recent visit by Prime Minister Abe and expressed Japan’s commitment to the development of Argentina’s economy. In particular, he referred to the possibility that Argentina may access Japanese soft loans, which both parties valued.

Finally, the authorities agreed to continue the dialogue between both countries in order to deepen bilateral and triangular cooperation and they agreed that it offers significant potential for the future.

 Press Release No. 025/17

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