G20: Mondino Participates in Trade Ministers' Meeting in Brazil

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino participated today in Brasília in the G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' Meeting and held a series of bilateral meetings with senior officials from the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, and Spain.

During the first session on WTO Reform and Strengthening the Multilateral Trade System, Foreign Minister Mondino highlighted the role of the G20 in building consensus "in a world challenged by protectionism and unilateral measures."

"Argentina's stance focuses on tax reform, an open market economy, promoting investments, strengthening the rule of law, fostering free competition, and full integration into the global economy. To consolidate our internal reform process, we have set the bar very high, and my country regards its accession to the OECD as a top priority," Mondino affirmed.

She also criticized the distortions affecting the global agricultural market, stating that "not only do consolidated tariffs and tariffs applied to agricultural products nearly double those on industrial goods, but also non-tariff measures disproportionately affect agricultural trade." In this regard, she argued that those subsidies "promote inefficiency and hinder our efforts towards food security." According to the Foreign Minister, "trade is poised to play an essential role in food security, environmental challenges, and livelihoods, particularly in non-subsidizing countries. In short, trade increases resilience."

Minister Mondino also emphasized the need to join efforts "to dismantle international trade barriers and ensure that developing countries will have a share in global trade growth."

In the afternoon, Mondino also participated in the session on Trade and Sustainable Development in Investment Agreements, where she urged the empowerment of the G20 to continue exploring ways to foster more investment and more trade, by promoting private initiatives. As an example, she mentioned the Investment Facilitation for Development Agreement, for whose incorporation into the WTO's legal framework Argentina worked alongside other Parties.

BILATERAL MEETINGS

During the summit in Brasília with G20 Trade and Investment Ministers, Foreign Minister Mondino held a meeting with UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, where they discussed opportunities to increase and diversify reciprocal trade and investments in various strategic sectors. The Minister stated that Argentina can become a supplier of halal products and play a key role in food supply within the UAE's 2051 National Food Security Strategy.

In particular, they agreed to promote the signing of the MERCOSUR-United Arab Emirates agreement, in view of the complementarities between the economies.

The Foreign Minister also met with the European Union's Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, and reiterated Argentina's interest in continuing to deepen the economic and trade relationship with the bloc to boost European investments in Argentina and improve the country's trade balance of goods and services.

Mondino and Dombrovskis agreed that the conclusion of negotiations and the signing of the Mercosur-EU Agreement are very close, and the Foreign Minister confirmed that it is a priority for the Argentine government. She also stressed that moving forward with the accession to the OECD is important for Argentina.

Additionally, Mondino met with Helene Budliger Artieda, Switzerland's State Secretary for Economic Affairs. During the meeting, both officials highlighted Argentina's commitment as coordinator of the MERCOSUR-EFTA negotiation and exchanged views on the ongoing negotiations between the two blocs to conclude the agreement as soon as possible. Furthermore, following up on their recent meetings, they also underscored the strength of their bilateral economic, trade, and investment relationship, as evidenced by the presence of over 70 Swiss companies in Argentina, primarily in the pharmaceutical, mining, chemical, food, services, and construction sectors.

Minister Mondino also met with the UK Secretary for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds. At the meeting, the ministers reviewed the status of the bilateral economic agenda and highlighted that the United Kingdom is the top third global destination-and the first in Europe-for Argentina's Knowledge-Based Services exports. The Minister conveyed to Reynolds Argentina's interest in strengthening cooperation in AgTech, FinTech, Artificial Intelligence, Software, Startups, and Video Games, and advancing a positive trade agenda.

During her discussions with the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, María Amparo López Senovilla, Mondino highlighted the growing presence of Argentine companies in Spain and the importance of Spain as the second-largest foreign investor in Argentina. They also discussed the progress of the Mercosur-EU agreement negotiations.

The Foreign Minister noted that Argentina can play a role as Spain's supplier in the field of energy generation and distribution, particularly in sectors relating to energy transition (gas, renewable energies, critical minerals, low-carbon hydrogen and by-products).

Finally, the Secretary of International Economic Relations, Marcelo Cima, met with the Deputy Minister of International Affairs of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), Matsuo Takehik, with whom he analyzed the trade flow between both countries. They agreed that bilateral trade is below its potential and undertook to work on its growth and diversification, focusing on new products such as biotechnology and knowledge-based industries. In addition, they discussed the possibilities of launching a MERCOSUR-Japan dialogue on the sidelines of the G20.

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