MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“Argentine Malvinas question” support group has a branch in Saudi Arabia

Ambassador Cerda in Saudi Arabia gave a conference on Argentine claims over Falklands' sovereignty and revealed the existence of a support group

Argentina is seeking the support of Saudi Arabia in its dispute with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands sovereignty. This was the appeal of the country's Ambassador Jaime Sergio Cerda during a seminar recently on the matter at his residence in the Diplomatic Quarter of Riyadh, reports Arab News.

 'The Malvinas Islands are part of Argentine territory inherited from Spain as decided by the first independent Argentine government in 1810', said ambassador Cerda in his speech. The archipelago with a total area of over 12000 square km was described as bigger than Lebanon and comprising 778 islands with a population of around 2500 inhabitants.

'In 1965 the United Nations General Assembly recognized in its resolution No. 2065 the dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom and invited both countries to negotiate a bilateral peaceful solution taking into account the interests of the inhabitants' he said.

'In December 2015 it will be 50 years since the adoption of that resolution but no such negotiation has begun. Repeated Argentine calls for it has been met by total British rejection' pointed out ambassador Cerda.

The Argentine diplomat added that besides the UN, various prominent international forums have called for the two countries to resolve the dispute through bilateral negotiations in particular the Third Summit of South American-Arab Countries of which both Argentina and Saudi Arabia are members, held in Lima, Peru on 2 October 2012.

The ambassador said the embassy organized the seminar to inform Saudi's businesspeople, university professors, intellectuals, Shoura Council members and diplomats about the issue.

'We did this because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a very important player today in various international forums including the United Nations the G-20 and many regional bodies in the Middle East' he said.

'In many countries grass root organizations called 'Support Groups on the Question of the Malvinas Islands' have been established to spread information on the history of the dispute and promote a peaceful solution' he said.

'We already have such a support group here in the Kingdom comprising Saudi citizens who with conviction help the work of the embassy. Of course public opinion and civil society are central to our task', underlined ambassador Cerda.

Haitham Bouzu president of the Saudi Support Group for Argentine Rights addressed the seminar and said the group had gathered to call for bilateral negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom to end the dispute in accordance with UN resolutions.

Finally the news agency indicates that the group was established in 2011 and consists of volunteers who are willing to support causes in world politics that have Saudi government support in terms of UN resolutions.