MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner takes Falklands' issue to UN assembly

Business, human rights and Malvinas/Falklands are among the main topics which the Argentine delegation headed by President Nestor Kirchner and First Lady Cristina Fernandez will be addressing in New York this week during the United Nations General Assembly, reports the Buenos Aires press.

Apparently in his speech to the General Assembly next Wednesday Mr Kirchner following on Argentina's strong stand before the Decolonization Committee will be reiterating a request for Secretary General Kofi Annan's "good offices" in the Falkland Islands sovereignty issue.

This means asking Mr. Annan, before his time is up at the end of 2006, to insist on the United Kingdom to begin negotiations on the disputed Islands sovereignty.

But attracting business and investments is top of the list, particularly since Argentina managed to liberate itself from the IMF "noose", has overcome the 2001/02 default and has proved to be a reliable member of the United Nations Security Council.

The business agenda includes interviews with the CEOs of major corporations with investments in Argentina in Wall Street where Kirchner will be honoured by opening Wednesday's trade session. The following day the whole Argentine delegation will be on hand for a question and answers round at the Council of Americas' headquarters with representatives from 200 top US corporations.

The Buenos Aires press underlines that talking to businesses in Wall Street interested in investing in Argentina has become a priority since the country faces a "non admitted" energy shortage situation, which could in the short term endanger the country's rapid growth.

"President Kirchner is visiting New York, not United States", point out diplomatic sources quoted in the press. Besides the protocol meeting Tuesday evening at the reception offered by US President George Bush as host to all country delegations to the UN assembly, Kirchner has no appointments scheduled with any US official or member of the Bush administration.

For several months now, given Argentina's closer links to Hugo Chavez Venezuela, the US administration has adopted a more firm stand with the Kirchner administration. Argentina figures in the list of countries which will probably loose special tariff benefits in the US market and the US Treasury Department has recommended voting negatively loans to Argentina in the World Bank and Interamerican Development Bank, until Argentina reviews it public utilities rates system.

Infrastructure minister Julio De Vido is also scheduled to hold a meeting with fifty leading businessmen from the energy sector to try and convince them there's no energy shortage in Argentina.

On human rights Argentina together with France are expected to officially launch in the UN Assembly the Convention against Enforced Disappearance of people and its incorporation to international law in spite of the negative stance from US, Russia and India among others.

Another hard nut to crack for President Kirchner will be his meeting with Italian Primer Minister Romano Prodi in an effort to rebuild traditional close ties with Italy. Italian bond holders, many of them retired individuals who lost lives savings, feel they were swindled with the Argentine default and refused to accept the sovereign bonds exchange. Italian administrations, both Conservative and Socialist have been demanding a better deal for individual bond holders.

Another Kirchner, First Lady Senator Cristina Fernandez also has a full agenda in New York. She's scheduled to give two lectures on Latinamerican politics in the prestigious Columbia and New York universities, meet with representatives from the Jewish Community who are increasingly concerned with growing "signals" of anti-Semitism in Argentina and face The New York Times journalists for a long interview.

Plus obviously shopping in the First Lady's "favourite city" and resting at the Four Seasons 51st floor suite at 15.000 US dollars a night, concludes the Argentine press.