Argentina’s Macri urges China to help connect Asia with South America
Argentine President Mauricio Macri supported on Monday the global investment plan promoted by China and proposed the country to collaborate with the Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA) to connect Asia with South America.
Macri participated in talks with other leaders in Beijing as part of the international New Silk Road Forum that concluded on Monday after two days of discussions between heads of states from 29 countries and representatives of international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
“We are keen on collaboration between the One Belt, One Road initiative and the IIRSA to promote connectivity between our regions,” Macri said on Sunday in Beijing.
Macri presented Argentina as the world’s best food supplier at the forum.
According to a presidential statement from a closed door meeting accessed by EFE, Argentina is a major food producer that currently caters to 400 million people and is capable of increasing its production exponentially.
Macri highlighted that Argentina’s goal is to double its production in coming years which, according to him, will provide alimentary support to the countries involved in the Chinese initiative.
He added that the possibility of South America being a part of the new initiative is something “they do not want to let go off.”
Macri is scheduled to meet other participants on the last day of the forum and is set to begin his official Chinese tour on Tuesday with a meeting on bilateral business investment and a conference at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
On Wednesday, the Argentine president will meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People to sign accords of cooperation.
On Thursday, Macri will travel to Shanghai to visit the Sial food festival – Asia’s biggest –, in which Argentina is the chief invitee.
Macri and the Chilean president, Michelle Bachelet, are the only South American leaders at the Beijing forum, in which the communist regime seeks to continue international support for its investment plan.
EFE |
