MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Regional navies meet in Argentina

A four-day summit opened yesterday in the coastal city of Mar del Plata with the participation of naval forces from 19 countries of the Americas. These conferences have taken place periodically since 1959, and Argentina has the opportunity to host the event.

Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Argentina are the countries in attendance, along with such associations as the Inter-American Defence and Inter-American Naval Telecommunications Network.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the Hotel Hermitage, with full attendance from the delegations and the aforementioned agencies.

The delegation of the Argentine navy is headed by the Joint Chief of Staff, Admiral Jorge Omar Godoy, and the director of the conference is the head of operations, policy, and planning for the navy, Rear-Admiral Carlos Alberto Paz.

According to a press release from the naval general secretariat, the working meetings will take place today and for the next two days at the Hotel Costa Galana, where presentations from the various delegations will be analyzed in order to reach general conclusions.

The conference enables the direct relationship at the highest institutional level among member nations, the discussion of regional strategic problems, and the development of programmes and projects in the search of resolution agreements of common interest aimed at achieving greater efficiency on a professional level.

These events, according to the press release, constitute a key meeting point in sharing information and opinions among seamen, faced with the challenges of an increasingly inter-related international system.

Argentina hosts the event for the third time, with the two prior editions celebrated here in 1974 and 1986. Buenos Aires Herald