PRESS RELEASE - 22 nd MAY 2018
Argentina and UK take steps in new era of bilateral relations
“The dialogue that we have had today has demonstrated the concrete results and progress that we have been making over the last 24 months of work, with constructive goals that have enabled us to foster, in various sectors, an environment enabling mutual trust to be rebuilt and opportunities and benefits to be identified for both peoples”, Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said today in the Palacio San Martin alongside his British counterpart, Boris Johnson, during a press conference.
Faurie stressed “we are very pleased with and touched by the results that we obtained within the framework of the 2016 communiqué that enabled us to identify the remains of so many compatriots buried at Darwin cemetery under the inscription ‘Argentine soldier known only to God”. We recognise the efforts that, with the support of the Red Cross, we have been able to make with the understanding of the British government”.
The Head of the Argentine diplomatic service praised the work of both countries in securing “an additional flight to the Malvinas Islands with a stopover in mainland Argentina, and the recent meeting of the Scientific Subcommittee of the Commission on Fisheries to exchange information regarding the preservation of resources”, and remarked that all these advances have happened “without in any way undermining our sovereignty claims, which remain valid for the Argentine Republic".
Foreign Minister Faurie expressed his gratitude for the UK’s support of Argentina’s negotiations with the IMF, and Britain’s backing of Argentina’s bid to join the OECD. He also mentioned that the pair discussed bilateral meetings that have been held in the areas of science and technology, trade and investment, transport, Antarctic cooperation, health and projects in education, human rights and gender equality.
Boris Johnson, meanwhile, said that both countries have "a relationship of great historical depth which is now going forward to a new stage". “There is a synchronicity now in what Argentina and the UK are doing, because Argentina is now engaged in intelligent reinsertion into the wider world. And we are engaged in the same process”, he said.
With regard to progress made in economic relations, he expressed his satisfaction with the participation of British companies in Argentine tenders in energy, transport and infrastructure. “We are the beneficiary of Argentine investments being made in London. In fact the British people are the second biggest consumers of Argentine wine" Boris Johnson said.
In his closing remarks, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Commonwealth said that the “positions on the sovereignty issue are well-known, but that this should not preclude all that we are doing to intensify our relationship”.
Original version in Spanish: https://cancilleria.gob.ar/en/news/releases/argentina-and-united-kingdom-move-forward-new-chapter-bilateral-relationship