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ARGENTINA | 21-06-2022 16:08

President Fernández packs his bags for Germany and the G7

Argentina’s president jets off Saturday for the G7 in Bavaria; Beforehand he will virtually attend 14th BRICS summit; Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero heads to New York to restate Malvinas sovereignty claim before the UN.

President Alberto Fernández will travel to Germany this weekend for the G7 Leaders Summit in Schloss Elmau, Bavaria.

Invited a month ago by German Chancellor Olaf Sholz, Argentina’s leader will be the only Latin American leader at the event that brings together the seven most powerful countries in the world, excluding China and Russia. The main focus of the event will be on the war that continues to rage in Ukraine, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expected to attend.

Fernández has spoken out against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, calling for a ceasefire and for all parties to sit down and negotiate. So far, his declarations have allowed him to confront pressure from the United States calling for a toughening of sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s government. Argentina’s leader will have to balance this hot scenario, but the president’s agenda will be focused on the main reason why he was invited.

Fernández will arrive in Bavaria as a representative of Argentina, but also as the temporary head of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) regional bloc. With this objective in mind, he will bring with him common proposals of the 33 countries that make up CELAC and will once again voice his call for peace, but at the same time he will seek to delve deeper into two issues that are of great interest to Buenos Aires: the possibility that Argentina can become a supplier of gas and food for the Old Continent, which is seeking to replace energy imports that deepen its dependence on Moscow in the midst of a war without an end on the near horizon.

Before leaving for Germany, Fernández will participate virtually in the 14th BRICS summit, the regional bloc that consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The group is currently analysing Argentina's entry and the president’s participation in the event will take place in that framework. The government is focusing its efforts on South Africa – the only BRICS member yet to make a decision over Argentina's potential inclusion.

While Fernández is connecting to the virtual meeting, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero will be departing for New York, where he will take part in the annual session of the United Nations Decolonisation Committee. He will be accompanied by an Argentine delegation that will include representatives from both the ruling and opposition coalitions. All of them will highlight Argentina's ongoing sovereignty claim over the Malvinas (Falkland) Islands, 40 years after the end of the war. 

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