MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine elected president meets with foreign leaders

Argentine elected president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner will be meeting this week Chilean president Michelle Bachelet and the head of the Spanish government Jose Luis Gonzalez Zapatero, her first interviews with foreign leaders since she won October 28.

Bachelet will receive Mrs Kirchner in the framework of the Ibero-American summit to be held in Santiago, November 9/10 and which she will be attending together with her husband President Nestor Kirchner, according to diplomatic sources in Buenos Aires. Cristina and Kirchner will be hosting President Rodriguez Zapatero next Saturday in Buenos Aires for a brief visit en route to the Santiago summit. From Madrid Rodriguez Zapatero anticipated he would give all his support to the elected president so Argentina "can leave behind the nightmare and returns to the family of economically strong countries". The Spanish president said "I have a good relation with her. Argentina is a country with great potential, well managed, and in a few years will come ahead leaving behind the nightmare of six years ago", in direct reference to the melting of the Argentine economy and subsequent default on its foreign debt in 2001/02. Next Wednesday the Kirchner couple will also be busy when they receive United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who will be hosted two days in Argentina in the framework of his tour of Latinamerica, Antarctica and Europe, previous to the UN world summit con climate change scheduled for next December. Ban Ki-moon will also visit the Argentina Congress and meet with Foreign Secretary Jorge Taiana, before leaving late Thursday for Santiago.