MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bielsa president of UN Security Council.

Argentina's Foreign Secretary Rafael Bielsa will be presiding the United Nations Security Council during January when several critical international situations will be addressed including elections in Palestine (01/9) and Iraq (01/30), plus the taking office of President George Bush for a second mandate (01/20).

Argentina was nominated last year to a non permanent seat of the fifteen members Security Council until December 2006, and since the presidency rotates alphabetically, Mr. Bielsa this Monday officially became temporary president for a month.

"With Argentina's incorporation to the Security Council we have begun to solidify the reconstruction of a country that believes in peace and multilateralism", remarked Argentina's Ambassador to the United Nations Cesar Mayoral adding that the country "is gradually leaving behind the crisis and isolationism we'd fallen into and now occupies an outstanding position in the international arena".

Argentina's nomination to the Security Council seat supported by 188 votes and one abstention "is clear evidence of the international community's confidence in Argentina and President Kirchner's administration", pointed out Ambassador Mayoral.

This Wednesday the five permanent members of the Security Council (US, UK, France, China and Russia) together with the ten non permanent members will decide on January's agenda which will include January 12 a debate on Haiti, an issue in which Mr. Bielsa is particularly interested and where Argentina has peace keeping troops.

The Argentine press reports that Mr. Bielsa will be presenting an international aid program for putting Haiti back on track, and will then travel to Port au Prince.

However, Mr. Bielsa will leave the Security Council presidency on two occasions, January 19/20 when President Kirchner will be meeting with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac in Paris, and January 25 when Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero travels to Argentina.

This is the eighth time Argentina acts as non permanent member of the Security Council since the foundation of United Nations.