Brazil and Argentina to coordinate cyber defense to address espionage challenge

Sunday, September 15th 2013 - 18:17 UTC

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Rossi and Amorim signing the joint statement on closer cooperation

Argentine Defence Minister Agustín Rossi and his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim issued a joint statement with cyber-defence taking the centre stage of the bilateral agenda, during the official ceremony at the Libertador building, seat of the Defence ministry in Buenos Aires.

Amorim was granted with the Mariano Moreno award during the official ceremony last Friday following a long meeting of the two ministers with their aides to address the recent espionage spat following on reports that denounced the United States was spying on South American governments having its “epicentre” in Brazil.

“We have decided that before the year ends we will hold a meeting in Brasilia to intensify cyber-defence complementary works. The current espionage system that has always existed, demands not only of each country’s efforts but of complementary work to counteract vulnerable situations,” Rossi affirmed.

Ex Foreign Minister during the administration of Lula Da Silva, Amorim added that the first step to address the espionage challenge is that both parties get to know each other and what each other do.

“Now there is an invitation for an Argentine mission to go to Brazil and that will allow the development of joint projects,” Amorim said as officials also highlighted the potential to develop defence software and current efforts to boost joint industrial defence programs.

“We will continue to develop the industrial projects we have in common, the UNASUR training aircraft and the freight plane that is being developed in Brazil,” Rossi explained and thanked Brazilian support to Argentina’s position over the sovereignty of the South Atlantic Malvinas Islands.

Rossi also advanced that Argentine shipyards could be used to repair Brazilian vessels and even consider the building of equipment for the two navies.

“We have expressed an interest in Brazil’s armoured light tank ‘Guaraní’ and we are going to intensify the exchange of officers between the forces of both countries”

Finally Rossi again insisted with the Malvinas question and “the support from Brazil in each of the international forums” and said that the two countries have a ‘converging view’ about ‘the importance of environmental issues for the regional future’.

Amorim was accompanied by the head of the Brazilian Army’s Centre for Cyber-defence, General Jose Carlos dos Santos.