MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Memorial and demining in UK-Argentine agenda.

In the framework of the Argentine-British high level regular talks initiated in 2002, a high ranking Foreign Office official met this Monday in Buenos Aires with the Argentine Foreign Affairs Deputy Secretary Jorge Taiana.

Sir Michael Jay Permanent Undersecretary of the Foreign Office and Head of Diplomatic Services spent several hours with Mr. Taiana addressing regional and global affairs of common interest and specifically the Falkland Islands issue, according to the Buenos Aires press.

Apparently two were the main issues regarding the Islands, the Memorial to honour the Argentine servicemen killed in the 1982 conflict that will be erected in Darwin, and the demining process, on which "there have been ongoing conversations for quiet some time", reports Clarín.

The Memorial was originally to be financed by voluntary donations and the greatest investment provided by an Argentine corporation closely linked to the privately managed airport industry in Argentina. But this group has run into trouble with the current Argentine administration, as have most other public utility concessions awarded during the Carlos Menem years.

However a delegation of next of kin and former Malvinas combatants recently met with Argentine president Nestor Kirchner who promised the necessary funds for the building of the Memorial, which they hopefully expect construction to begin this coming summer.

Given the limited funds available the Argentine Memorial Committee is considering having most of the Memorial built in the mainland and then assembled in Darwin, given the much higher construction (materials and labour) costs in the Falklands.

As to mine clearance, the Argentine press reports that Argentina and Britain have expressed their willingness to proceed with the project, however this has been grounded by the lack of sufficient funds. An estimated 15,000 anti personnel mines, planted by the Argentines remain buried in the Islands since 1982.

Another unconfirmed issue in the agenda was the recent arrest in Britain of the former Iranian Ambassador in Buenos Aires when the bombing of a Jewish institution with a toll of dozens killed and hundreds wounded in July 1994.

Allegedly Iranian diplomats could have been involved with the logistics of the murderous attack that remains unsolved in spite of the ongoing judicial investigation and reports from several first line international intelligence agencies including CIA and the Israel's Mosad.

The mechanism of regular high level talks between Argentina and Britain was agreed and started in 2002.