An offshore services support Norwegian vessel will begin next week working for the recovery of the Chilean flagged trawler “Polar Mist” loaded with containers containing gold and silver that was lost in the South Atlantic offshore Argentina.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will be holding a bilateral meeting next March 27th in Viña del Mar, Chile during the progressive leaders’ forum and most probably the Falklands/Malvinas claim issue will be on the table, according to reports in Buenos Aires daily La Nación.
The remains of Argentine 1st Lt. Jorge Casco killed in 1982 while flying a Skyhawk fighter plane during the South Atlantic Islands conflict were buried at the Falkland Islands Darwin cemetery on Saturday 7 March 2009.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner seem to have suffered on Sunday their first electoral setback of the year, more precisely in the northern province of Catamarca where they openly campaigned in support of the local opposition.
Brazil denied it was thinking on reprisals against Argentina because of the restrictive measures imposed to the access of Brazilian goods and also rejected it had threatened to take the case to the World Trade Organization.
Congress members from Argentina and Chile signed a statement supporting the full enforcement of the Antarctic Treaty and reiterated their common position against the United Kingdom’s announced intention of extending claims over the continental shelf.
Following five years of strong growth the construction industry in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires has begun a new cycle. In 2008 the total number of construction permits authorized by local authorities reached 2.5 million square metres which represents a contraction of 20.3% compared to 2007, and anticipates a decline in activity for this year, according to a report from the local consultants Real Estate Report.
Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretary Welber Barral admitted publicly that Brasilia is considering taking its trade dispute claims with Argentina to the World Trade Organization. Insistent leaks to the press from “reliable sources” anticipated for days the growing trade rift between Mercosur two main partners.
Full military honours will given to the burial of Argentine remains in the Falklands on Saturday.
Bilateral trade between Argentina and Brazil continued to deteriorate during the first two months of the year, according to official statistics released in Brasilia. Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade said that exports to Argentina in January-February were down to 1.33 billion US dollars which represents 46.5% less than Jan-Feb. 2008.