MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South Atlantic cooperation main topic in ABC

Virtually unnoticed by the Argentine press the Argentine British Conference, Buenos Aires 2003 edition, took off Saturday morning in the Argentine Council for International Relations, CARI, with former British Defence Secretary Michael Portillo giving participating in the opening conference, “Developments since the last ABC in 2000”.

Mr. Portillo was followed Saturday afternoon by Falklander Tony Blake who talked about "Opportunities for cooperation and development in the South Atlantic" and further on Peter Edbrooke from the conference organizing team and president of the Argentine-British Chamber of Commerce addressed "Constructing the relationship and the achievements of ABC".

This Sunday discussions focused in "Promoting exchanges, Education, Culture and Sport" and tomorrow Monday Mr. Portillo and MP Martin O'Neill will be discussing "Perspectives from the United Kingdom".

ABC is a private, informal non governmental dialogue forum organized by CARI and the South Atlantic Council from Britain that has been holding ongoing periodical meetings since 1990 with the purpose of promoting political, economic and cultural relations between both governments and helping to find solutions to pending problems as a result of the South Atlantic conflict of 1982.

Actually after the war CARI sponsored several meetings between legislators, politicians and academics from Argentina and Britain to exchange ideas and help re-establish the ample range of traditional bilateral relations that go back deep into history. The ABC model was inspired in the Koenigswinter Model which helped start the reconciliation process between Britain and Germany after Second World War. With this background and the understanding development potential from the CARI inspired open discussion meetings, a group of British personalities from different sectors created the South Atlantic Council that converged in the ABC.

So far seven of these conferences have taken place alternatively beginning in Streatley on Thames in 1990; San Carlos de Bariloche in April 1991; September 1992 in Cambridge; Mendoza, April 1994; Oxford, September 1995; Salta, October 1996 which was followed by Sussex in May 2000.

According to the ABC official presentation all participants, be it members of Parliament, politicians, government officials, businessmen, academics, journalists, church representatives, artists, act individually and do not represent the institutions they belong to.

The agenda or topics addressed involve areas of common interest such as integration processes both in Mercosur and the European Union; globalization; cultural exchanges; Antarctica and the environment; sovereignty and contacts with Falkland Islands; cooperation in the South Atlantic (fisheries and oil), trade, investments, NGO.

The list of delegates from Britain to the Buenos Aires ABC 2003 includes Kit Bethel, British Gas; Terry Betts and Tony Blake Falklanders; Victoria Clark freelance journalist; Peter Edbrooke, Alastair Forsyth from the South Atlantic Council; Elliot Gotkine, BBC, Seamus Mirodan, Daily Telegraph, Adam Thompson, Financial Times; Baroness Hooper from Canning House; Nigel Hubbard, Lloyd's Bank; Nicholas Livingstone consultant and former diplomat; Aidan Ford, Wedgewood Travel Agency; Michael Portillo, Martin O'Neill, Derek Wyatt, members of Parliament; Rupert Sword, president Schroeder Investment Buenos Aires; Barney Miller, chairman Anglo-Argentine Society in London; Bruce Mauleverer and Simon Whitworth, attorneys in law.

On the Argentine side: Jorge Capitanich, Dario Alessandro, Alberto Natale, Alejandra Oviedo, Carlos Raimundi, members of Congress; Luis Mario Castro, president of Unilever Argentina; Felipe de la Balze and Lilian del Castillo, CARI with specific coverage of Falklands and South Atlantic; Antonio Estrande y Gendre, CARI; Jorge Elías, journalist; Rosendo Fraga, politician; Lucio García del Solar, CARI, former Ambassador and permanent advisor on Malvinas issues; Cristina Guzmán, former member of Congress; Conrado Helbling, economist and foreign affairs advisor; José María Llados, CARI; Fernando Maurette, former Congressman; Carlos Muñiz, CARI president and former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Felix Peña, CARI; Adalberto Rodríguez Giavarini, former Minister of Foreign Affairs; Jesus Rodríguez and Marcelo Stubrin former members of Congress.