MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Cristina confirms attendance to London summit April 2

Pte. Cristina Fernadez

Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner confirmed on Tuesday she received the official invitation from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the G-20 summit to be held in London at the beginning of April.

The date is particularly sensitive since on April 2nd 1982 Argentine forces landed in the disputed Falkland Islands triggering a 74 day war with the UK, which ended in disaster for the Argentine military regime of the time. "We've just received the invitation from the Prime Minister of the UK to be on April 1 and 2 in London for the G-20 meeting", said the Argentine leader during an official ceremony at the presidential residence in Olivos. Mrs. Kirchner said that in the coming summit "we are going to discuss how to address the globalization avalanche which has led to the collapse of sacred icons and totems, which had been enshrined and about which nobody could discuss or question without the risk of being considered a heretic", she emphasized. The London G-20 summit of the world's leading industrialized countries plus leading emerging economies from different continents (Latinamerica is represented by Brazil, Mexico and Argentina), follows on the first which took place in Washington last December but under lame-duck former president George Bush. This will be the first meeting of world leaders with President Barack Obama who arrives after having signed a huge stimulus program and with proposals in the pipeline to further advance in cleansing the US financial system. The meeting will basically address reforms to the global financial system, to the multilateral organizations and setting the foundations for an improved coordination of stimulus efforts as well as stymieing the budding protectionist practices both in trade and aid packages. However since April 2 is a very special date in the Argentine calendar, Mrs. Kirchner is expected to make some public announcement or gesture referred to the anniversary and Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falklands/Malvinas, while in London before world leaders. The Buenos Aires press has been reporting the different options considered by the Argentine diplomacy, including the request for a private interview with PM Brown to address the issue, and if not, what then. A spokesperson for the British Embassy in Buenos Aires underlined the good relation between UK and Argentina, (except for the Falklands' issue) and praised Argentina's contribution to global affairs. "Argentina is an international partner much valued by the UK and we are certain and hopeful that President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner plays a positive role at the summit" said the spokesperson, recalling that "this is a multilateral summit with a great number of world leaders and the focus of the debate will be the serious economic problems the world is facing".