MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Billionaire Soros meets Cristina Fernandez and exchange ideas of world affairs

CFK is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly Tuesday afternoon

Argentine President Cristina Fernández met on Monday with billionaire investor George Soros at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in New York, before her speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The meeting was held on an “open agenda” and lasted for an hour.

Cristina Fernandez highlighted that the investor anticipated Argentina has a “promising future due to its agrarian capacities.” She also stated, after the encounter, that they spoke about “the agriculture in the contemporary world and stressed Argentina's role as a main actor”.

“I was very much interested in hearing his opinion on what is going on in the world”, said the Argentine leader.

Asked specifically about the possibility of Soros or his companies investing in Argentina, Cristina Fernandez said it “was not the main issue of the exchange”, but did not confirm or deny the matter.

Cristina Fernandez later met Egypt’s new president Mohamed Morsi but skipped a dinner that President Barack Obama hosted for his fellow leaders at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and instead visited the Evita Peron exhibit at the Argentine consulate in New York.

Argentine ambassador in Washington Jorge Arguëllo said that the trip to the US centres round “President Cristina Fernández visits to the academic world” in reference to scheduled trips to Georgetown and Harvard Universities.

According to Argentine diplomatic sources, the trip is being described internally as pared-down or “austere”, without the same level of public appearances normally associated with the Argentine President. During the flight Cristina apparently spent her time studying documentation on the Argentine and global economy.

Official sources commented that the Argentine President would speak at 3.30pm (4.30pm Argentine time) Tuesday after her counterparts from Rwanda and Switzerland.

“In terms of the UN, the President plans to speak regarding her vision of the global financial and economic system, and the importance of the shifting of focus from old to new actors in reference to the growing importance of the developing nations,” added Ambassador Argüello.

After her UN speech, Cristina Fernandez will participate in an event at Georgetown University in Washington DC on Wednesday, in which she will inaugurate an academic course space focusing on Argentina, which will hold regular forums aimed at improving relationship between Argentina and the US.

At the end of her stay, the President is expected to visit Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the final act of her official visit will be a presentation to students and professors at Harvard University on Thursday.

While Cristina Fernandez conducts her official activities, Foreign Minister Timerman is also expected to have a busy schedule this week, filled with bilateral meetings with UN counterparts from Israel, Russia, Italy, Algeria, Holland, Pakistan, Portugal, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.

Despite Jewish opposition to such a meeting, sources claim Timerman has already scheduled a meeting with his Iranian counterpart.

Commenting on suggestions that this might be the case, Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Palmor said: “Any country that seeks to maintain bilateral contact with Tehran must be aware of the danger they are approaching,” adding “terrorist Iran is stronger than ever.”

The Israeli representative also suggested when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks, “he should be met with an empty hall,” to indicate “a clear message sent by the international community to the regime”.