David Cairns, Britain’s new Ambassador in Buenos Aires, has presented credentials to Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, formally beginning his service in Argentina.
Cairns arrived in the capital last Saturday with his wife Sharon. He arrives in the 200th year of bicentennial relations between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
During his meeting at the San Martín Palace with Werthein, the British envoy reviewed bilateral relations and analysed new opportunities for collaboration, said the UK Embassy in a statement.
Ambassador Cairns, for his part, also “expressed gratitude” over the recent visit to the UK by Argentina’s Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona to attend a symposium on economic crimes.
The duo also discussed the upcoming visit by Sir Chris Bryant, minister of state at the UK Department for Business and Trade.
Both officials emphasised the importance of the relationship, which dates back to the "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Between Argentina and the United Kingdom," signed in 1825.
“I feel deeply honoured to be able to represent my country in Argentina, especially in the year of the bicentenary of our diplomatic relations. Over these 200 years we have fostered cooperation in areas as diverse as trade, politics, science and culture and that has already become part of our identities as Britons and Argentines,” Cairns told Werthein.
“I look forward to deepening those ties and supporting what is clearly a priority for our Prime Minister and your President: growth and prosperity,” he added.
Cairns – who served as UK ambassador to Sweden from 2015 to 2019 – brings extensive diplomatic and corporate experience to his role.
He joined the British Foreign Office in 1993, serving in Japan as a commercial secretary and later in Geneva as head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Section. He has also held several London-based positions, including FCDO director for estates and security.
From 2015 to 2019, Cairns served as the UK’s envoy in Sweden and as director of the Nordic Baltic Network.
After leaving the diplomatic service, he joined Equinor, Norway’s state-owned energy giant, as vice-president for political and public affairs. He also served four years as an independent board director at the G.A. Group design studio, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Cairns succeeds former British ambassador Kirsty Hayes as the United Kingdom's top diplomatic representative to Argentina.
Trade envoy
Bryant, on his first trip abroad since taking over the Trade portfolio, arrived Thursday following a stopover in Brazil designed to “diversify and boost trade relations with the two fastest-growing economies in South America,” returning to Brazil next week after his visit here.
While here Bryant will be conversing with local officials, businessmen and analysts, also visiting enterprises involving British firms with a special interest in attracting investments where the UK is a world leader but also a fun part – celebrating recent measures permitting an increase in the sales of Scotch whisky.
Bryant (a Labour MP for Rhondda Valley) stated: “Brazil and Argentina are the two biggest economies in South America and closer trade ties will help us to achieve the economic growth established in our Plan for Change.”
Although bilateral trade increased 10 percent between the first quarters of 2024 and 2025 to reach a record 2.2 billion pounds sterling, Argentina remains only Britain’s 66th trade partner, leaving ample room for growth on both sides.
Bryant is the first British trade minister to visit Argentina since 2018. A business round table has been organised to connect British companies with key decision-makers to ensure new export opportunities.
Thursday night’s reception dedicated to whisky at the British Embassy residence also marked the diplomatic kickoff for Cairns here. There the recent Argentine recognition of Scotch whisky’s Geographical Indications (Argentina’s first case of such approval) was toasted, Along with Argentina’s decision to reduce tariffs from 35 to 20 percent, this could open up the market to a liquor exporting £1.4 billion last year, also representing a certain reciprocity for British appreciation of Argentine wines. Open banking will be another special focus of the ministerial visit.
– TIMES/AFP
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