THE Argentine Republic, on Tuesday evening, hosted a reception at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown, to mark the country’s 204th anniversary of the 1810 May Revolution, which paved the way for the South American nation’s independence. On the occasion, Ambassador of the Republic of Argentina, Mr. Luis Martino stressed his country’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with Guyana.
He said: “Over the past 12 months, we have undertaken a series of initiatives in the framework of our bilateral relations, with the aim of strengthening the integration process between our two countries and peoples.
“…negotiations are currently underway to conclude agreements in the areas of agriculture, culture, sports and the establishment of a permanent consultative mechanism on matters of mutual interest. We are also exploring the possibility of cooperating in other areas, such as health, tourism and protected areas.”
Ambassador Martino reported that Argentina will participate in GuyExpo 2014 as a means of bolstering trade and investment ties with the private sectors of both countries.
He added that Guyana, in return, has been invited to take part in an October international tourism fair, which will be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

TECHNICAL AGREEMENTS
The diplomat stated that, leading up to 2014; Guyana and Argentina have executed a number of technical agreements, particularly in the areas of training and capacity building of Guyanese professionals.
Martino reiterated his country’s commitment to bolstering relations with Guyana, as it simultaneously pursues multilateral ties in the Caribbean, the latter being fostered by his country’s involvement with the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Organisation of American States (OAS).
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who also delivered remarks at Tuesday’s function, noted that there are many challenges which countries like Guyana have to overcome to ensure sustained growth and development.
To this end, he said: “We welcome the support of partnering countries and the integration mechanisms…with support from our traditional partners and new friends; we are focusing our energies on developing those priority projects that form the core of our development agenda.”
According to him, since the establishment of ties with Argentina in the 1970s, there have been high level exchanges and strengthening of cooperation in critical development areas.
“I am pleased to know that two bilateral agreements will be signed shortly,” the Prime Minister said.
He also highlighted the quintessential support of bodies like the OAS and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in expressing theirs, as it relates to the passage of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) (Amendment) Bill, whose non-enactment resulted in the effective blacklisting of Guyana on the international front.
“The Government of Guyana will not be daunted from securing a better standard of living for Guyanese,” he pledged.
The Prime Minister also offered Guyana’s congratulations on the anniversary and lauded the “hard work, sacrifice and imagination and great love of country” by the people of Argentina.
The celebration was attended by several other Members of Parliament (MPs), Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green, other representatives of the Diplomatic Corps, Private Sector members and several officials from the local Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Georgetown Argentine Embassy reopened in 2011 and since then bilateral ties between the two countries have been strengthened.

(By Vanessa Narine)