A colourful holiday in Argentina, Nuevo de Julio on July 9 of every year is celebrated with fireworks, parades, speeches, and military demonstrations to mark its Independence Day. Celebrations of Argentina’s 200 years of independence unfurled in style at the Grand Hyatt Doha on Sunday evening, as the country’s ambassador to Qatar apprised the audience of the significance of her country’s continuing achievements and its steadily growing relations with Qatar.
Welcoming the gathered guests to Argentina’s Bicentennial Independence Day celebration, the Ambassador of Argentina to Qatar, Rossana Cecilia Surballe, said, “200 years ago, on July 9, 1816, representatives of Argentine provinces gathered in Tucumán, a small city in the north-west of the country and our Independence was declared. Commemorating 200 years of independent life is an opportunity for us to remind ourselves about our past, to appreciate our present and to continue building up a better future with new opportunities to all our people.”
At the well-attended event, the mood was upbeat and the atmosphere was marked with revelry. The highlights, of course, were the lavish spread of Argentine delicacies, specially prepared by the Argentinean chef Franco Canzano, and Anil Kumar and Marilien Legrand’s measured performance of the famous tango ‘La Cumparsita’ – the latter also serving as a trailer to the upcoming 4th edition of Doha Tango Festival, to be held from October 25 to 29.
“Argentina is a cultural melting pot, having received a constant flow of immigrants, mainly from Europe, but also coming from Arabic countries, as well as from our Latin American brothers, who have integrated in a society with common interests and shared values,” Surballe said. “Therefore, Argentina is a good demonstration of how people of different cultures, religions and creeds can live together in peace, building up a country and a home for those from different latitudes that settled down in our homeland. This has been our experience that we are willing to share with countries of all over the world.”
On this point, the ambassador further elaborated by explaining how her country has established the ‘Syria Programme’ in order to facilitate humanitarian visas for foreigners affected by Syrian conflict. “As a gesture of solidarity that also shows our will to be part of the solution to global issues, President Mauricio Macri has recently announced a plan to receive 3,000 Syrian refugees in Argentina,” she said.
Speaking on Argentina and Qatar’s diplomatic relations, which were established a good 42 years ago, Surballe said that in the recent years they have witnessed an increase in bilateral ties, which reflected both at economic as well as at political levels. “We are determined to continue working together with local authorities in order to consolidate strong links of friendship and cooperation between our countries,” she said.
“In this regard, I would like to highlight the visit of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to Buenos Aires, last July 28, which boosted extraordinarily our bilateral relations, especially in economic and investment spheres focus on agribusiness, infrastructure, energy, renewable resources and mining,” Surballe continued. “Regarding political issues, several agreements were signed during the visit and we continue to work in order to develop co-operation efforts in fields such as Sports, Investments, Education and Technical Cooperation, among others.”
To make matters better, Qatar and Argentina today are more connected than ever before. Qatar Airways, for instance, recently announced that they will boost their plane capacity to Argentina by 40%. Certainly, that is an important step to further develop our vast business and tourism opportunities, Surballe pointed out.
“Argentina celebrates its bicentennial with an outstanding economic development programme. In fact, we are planning in the coming years, to double our production of food. Nowadays, my country produces food for 450mn people, and we are planning to produce food to feed 900mn people,” Surballe said. “In order to do that, the government has launched a very ambitious plan of infrastructure all over the country that includes among other measures, the transformation of the energetic matrix.”
As well as developing trade and investment issues, Argentina is committed to fighting poverty and stimulating inclusive, long-term growth, the ambassador noted. “During the last months, foreign investors have shown an increased interest in many business opportunities we are offering to the world. Qatari investors are also exploring trade and investment opportunities in Argentina. A few weeks ago, an important event took place in Buenos Aires. ‘Argentina Business & Investment Forum’ was a unique opportunity for business leaders from across the globe to meet and discuss new investment and trade possibilities in Argentina.”
Qatar is a key partner for Argentina, Surballe asserted. “We are working together in strategic sectors in which both countries need each other. Currently we are working closely with Qatar Investment Authority and Hassad Food to exploit the best potential of our partnership. We have received a strong support for our work from the Government of Qatar in our initiatives and are deeply grateful to HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and to the Government of Qatar for the permanent collaboration we receive in our daily work,” she added.