MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

South Atlantic Cooperation Zone calls for Malvinas “negotiations”

The ministerial summit of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (SAPCZ) meeting in Angola specifically supported Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Islas Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands.

SAPCZ, made up of fourteen African countries and three South American (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay) included in the final political document and road map a paragraph calling on the United Kingdom to resume sovereignty negotiations over the Islands and adjoining maritime spaces, adding that a solution to this significant sovereignty dispute "will contribute to consolidate stability and cooperation in the South Atlantic on a permanent basis". The Argentine delegation to the two days Luanda ministerial meeting was headed by Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Roberto Garcia Moritán. The meeting also decided to privilege the multilateral mechanism in political concerted action, reinforce the economic cooperation and development of country members plus increasing actions against drugs and arms trafficking. At the final ceremony Argentina passed on to Angola the presidency of SAPCZ which she was holding since 1998. SAPCZ was created in 1986 by the United Nations General Assembly with the purpose of promoting a cooperation and political coordination atmosphere, and having as a main objective economic and trade integration between countries on both sides of the South Atlantic. The Zone is made up by Angola, Argentina, Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo Brazzaville, CÃÂÂ'te d'Ivoire, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, São Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, and Uruguay and was until the Angola meeting chaired by Argentina.