Portugal's former prime minister Antonio Guterres is still the frontrunner to become the next secretary-general of the United Nations following a third straw poll held Monday, diplomats said. Guterres, who served as UN refugee chief for 10 years, received 11 votes of encouragement, three “discourage” votes and one “no opinion” during the informal vote by the 15-member Security Council.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon applauded on Monday Argentina's commitment and strong partnership with the UN and its cooperation with other countries. Ban Ki-moon arrived in Buenos Aires from Paraguay and previously from Brazil where he was part of the inauguration of the Rio Olympic Games.
Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra confirmed that the United Nations Security Council held its first informal round of consultations among hopefuls for the UN Secretary General post, and underlined that the results of such talks are confidential, and there will be further such meetings, the first step in a long process.
Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly members, Mike Summers and Gavin Short, speaking early today at the Special Committee on Decolonisation at the United Nations in New York argued that the Falkland Islands and its people have the right to determine their own future. Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra is scheduled to present Argentina’s case to the C24 claiming Argentine sovereignty over the Falkland Islands later this afternoon.
Argentine foreign minister Susana Malcorra will be absent from the debate on the Venezuelan situation scheduled for next Thursday in Washington, since that same day she will be attending the UN Special Decolonization Committee when the Falklands/Malvinas issue is to be addressed.
The Argentine government reiterates its full willingness for an open dialogue with the United Kingdom to strengthen the bilateral relation and indentify possible cooperation areas in the South Atlantic. Likewise it invites the UK to resume negotiations on the Malvinas question in the framework of the UN General Assembly resolution 2065, according to an official statement from the Argentine foreign ministry released on Friday.
Britain is facing a diplomatic dilemma since it seems quite clear that the US administration of Barack Obama favours the Argentine candidate and current foreign affairs minister Susana Malcorra as the next UN Secretary General, according to an article published on the Sunday edition of The Telegraph and written by Peter Foster, Europe editor and Harriet Alexander, New York editor.
Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra said on Friday she believes there's no conflict of interest between her bid to be the next U.N. secretary-general and her ministerial work including pressing Argentina's sovereignty claim over the disputed Falkland Islands.
Argentina's foreign minister Susana Malcorra held another round of talks with high level Chinese officers in Beijing, as part of her official visit to China to promote trade, investment and the special strategic relation between the two countries. But also cut short her visit to other countries to be back in Buenos Aires next Monday in time to meet with her new Brazilian peer, Jose Serra to address the bilateral agenda and Mercosur among other issues.
President Mauricio Macri on Friday made official the nomination of Susana Malcorra as a candidate to the post of United Nations Secretary General, underlining that the diplomatic experience of the Argentine foreign minister will contribute to provide creative solutions to the challenges faced by the UN organization.