MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mrs. Cristina F. Kirchner avoids controversy in Berlin

Senator Cristina Fernández with Chancellor Angela Merkel

In the third day of her highly publicized visit to Germany, first lady Cristina Fernández de Kirchner met Chancellor Angela Merkel without any special reference to the bilateral problems regarding the renegotiation of the external debt and irate German bond owners.

Afterwards, the first lady visited Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos, and also the headquarters of Siemens, which supplies technology to Argentine power plants, since, according to Mrs Kirchner herself, energy has become central to current policy. Presidential candidate Cristina Kirchner, accompanied by Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana, paid a visit to Merkel at the Foreign Ministry in downtown Berlin, where more than 30 photographers present snapped pictures of both women. The photographs are expected to improve Mrs. Kirchner's standing in the international arena, as the highly respected Merkel is considered by Forbes magazine to be the most powerful woman in the world. In a polite 30-minute conversation, Mrs. Kirchner talked about friendly matters without referring to any controversial issues. The senator recounted her visit to the Volkswagen factory in Wolfsburg and her presentation to the German Chamber of Commerce earlier this week. Merkel, of the centre-right Christian Democrat party, transmitted to Kirchner her government's intention of increasing investment in Argentina and expressed pleasure over the economic recovery there. Hours later, Cristina Kirchner met Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos, with whom she discussed the Paris Club debt. The first lady reiterated to him the government's intentions to negotiate the debt without the intervention of the International Monetary Fund, expressing "moderate optimism" about improving Argentina's relation with the organization if Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn becomes the new director-general. Afterwards, Mrs. Kirchner visited the headquarters of Siemens in Berlin, the company providing technology to Argentine nuclear reactors Atucha 1 and 2, and supplier of turbines to other national power plants, thus winding up her German trip. Today, she travels to Austria, accompanied by her large entourage, where she is to visit Austrian President Heinz Fischer in Vienna. Buenos Aires Herald