MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Malvinas is central for Argentina, but 'there are a lot of other areas to work with the UK'

The Malvinas dispute “does not impede acknowledging that relations between the UK and Argentina have a lot of other areas in which we have to work”.

Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra said on Tuesday the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty conflict “can't be sidestepped because it's a historic and central issue” for Argentina, although this “does not impede” acknowledging that relations between the two countries “have a lot of other areas in which we have to work”.

 “The Malvinas issue can't be sidestepped because it is an historic and central issue. There is a deep feeling of the Argentines. Nobody is sidestepping the issues. It's an issue that is there and we must try to see if there are mechanisms to advance it”, pointed out Malcorra during a meeting at the ministry with a group of friends of Colombia.

The dispute between Buenos Aires and London over the Malvinas “does not impede acknowledging that relations between the UK and Argentina have a lot of other areas in which we have to work”.

“It is a basic principle that in any bilateral relation there will be a common agenda of mutual interest, and there will be areas in which we will have differences”, insisted Malcorra.

Thus there will no closed doors to bilateral trade “since that is against the interests of Argentina” and underlined, “we will have clearly areas of difference, but in the meantime we will continue to build on a joint agenda because that is the only way of giving Argentina all the opportunities”.

Later in the day during lunch at CARI, the Argentine Council of International Relations, which Malcorra described as “the extension of the foreign ministry”, she said “I prefer not to look back” and rather concentrate “on what has to be done”.

“If there was a place where I could not miss, was CARI” in reference to Argentina's think-tank, one of the outstanding in Spanish language, according to a rating from the University of Pennsylvania.

During her meeting with members of the council and sitting next to former foreign minister Jorge Taiana, (the last minister to visit CARI), Malcorra said that her years in the United Nations had helped her to forge foreign relations as “a State policy” and appealed to those present.

As to her plans at the ministry, Malcorra said she would look for the ”national interest in the grey (areas)” and ratified a policy of 'open doors'. As to foreign trade, the minister pointed out that the ideal is for Argentina to act and perform as a whole.

Among those attending the meeting besides CARI president Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini, were Susana Ruiz Cerutti, Jorge Taiana, Roberto Lavagna, Félix Peña, Antonio Estrany Gendre, Fulvio Pompeo, Mario Eduardo Vázquez, José Octavio Bordón, Jorge Hugo Herrera Vegas, Aníbal Jozami, Jesús Rodríguez, Fernando Petrella, Andrés Cisneros, Roberto García Moritán, Rogelio Pfirter, Diego Guelar and Ricardo Lagorio.