MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US Congress partisan delegation praises Cristina Kirchner

A bipartisan delegation of United States Congress members visiting Argentina said on Thursday that closer links between both countries are needed and described the hour and a half meeting with President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner as “excellent”.

"The meeting with the president was excellent; in my twenty years as Congress member I've never been in a better or more pleasant meeting", said Eliot Engel, (Democrat New York) head of the bipartisan delegation from the Lower House. "She was very grateful that the delegation visiting Argentina was bipartisan". "What we need are closer and stronger links between both countries", said Engel adding that Argentina and the US have much in common, "much to learn from each other" and "many issues to work on jointly". Engel said that the main purpose of the visit to Argentina was to improve the bilateral relation which has been under considerable strain lately. "I agreed with the President that the US has been absent from Latinamerica for too long", said Engel who promised, as member of the Foreign Affairs Committee to do his best to promote and strengthen relations. Engel described the meeting with Mrs. Kirchner as "very warm", with a "good connection I believe because of her political philosophy and orientation and her commitment to social justice". He added that "we established some foundations to manage and launch closer links between the US Congress and the Argentine government". "I think my friends in the delegation will agree that we have just met with one of the most impressive political leaders we've met in our visit to this continent", pointed out Engel. Regarding the case of the money stashed suitcase currently before a federal court in Miami and which caused a rift between the Kirchner administration and the US since allegedly "the funds from Venezuela were to finance Mrs. Kirchner presidential campaign", Engel said "this is entirely a judicial question, we have nothing to do with it and don't have a clue what can happen". "This is only an incident, what matters are better US/Argentina relations". Republican representative Jerry Weller thanked the Argentine president for "the cooperation of the government in the fight against terrorism and drugs trade" and underlined the Argentine decision to take to justice the Iranian officials allegedly involved in the attack on a Jewish institution in Buenos Aires, in 1994, which killed dozens and injured hundreds. Regarding the coming US presidential election Engel said he supported Hillary Clinton, but "whoever is elected next November must understand he will have to work closer with Argentina to keep developing and improving the relation". Weller on the other hand said he expected John McCain to be the next US president, "a man with close links to Latinamerica, he was born in Panama and has traveled extensively in the area".