Macri seeks to deepen relations with the European Union – ElSol.com.ar – Diario de Mendoza, Argentina

President Mauricio Macri will travel this month to France and Belgium, as part of a tour where he will meet the leaders of both countries and the authorities of the European Union (EU).

This trip, one of the last that the President performs before the start of the election campaign for his reelection, will deepen political and trade relations with both European countries, but also insist. in the entry of Argentina in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and in the trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU.

The president will arrive with the first lady, Juliana Awada, and participate in the Argentina-France Business Forum. He will also have talks with the authorities of the French National Assembly and Senate.

The highlight will be the meeting with President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee and an official dinner with the participation of business representatives from both countries and other guests.

"Macron and Macri both want to move on to the next stage of the bilateral relationship," said a source at the Foreign Ministry, about the goals and expectations of the trip.

He also explained that even though there are large French companies based in Argentina, it now targets the joint work of SMEs from both countries. Among the trade agreements that will be signed, there will be agricultural issues to software, through the artificial intelligence.

The last time they saw Macri and Macron, was at the G20 summit held last November in Buenos Aires, but the two partners had good relations since the meeting of the G20 in Hamburg in 2017. Since then, they met in Paris and joined the G7 in the middle of last year.

In the case of Belgium, Macri's trip will have the status of state visit. This gives more formalities to the trip and will force the Argentine president to surrender to the three powers of the state, as provided by the protocol in these cases.

"Belgium grants two state visits a year, and it's an honor to be one of the countries elected for 2019," said a diplomatic source.

Macri will be in Brussels, the Belgian capital, from April 28th to 30th.

Upon their arrival, Macri and Awada will have a meeting with King Felipe and his wife, Queen Matilde, at Laeken Royal Castle, then a private dinner with Their Majesties, again according to the official program of the trip.

The next day, the president will lay a wreath on the grave of the unknown soldier, visit the federal parliament and meet the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Belgium, Charles Michel.

In commercial matters, the Argentine head of state will visit the headquarters of the GlaxoSmithKline laboratory (GSK, which also operates in Argentina), meet the heads of Belgian companies and host a bilateral trade forum.

In addition, the President will visit the port of Antwerp to visit the Argentine logistics center, the distribution center that operates there.

As far as relations with Belgium are concerned, the trip will ensure the continuity of the problems initiated in the middle of last year, when Princess Astrid, King Felipe's sister, went to Buenos Aires with more than 130 men. Belgian business.

On this occasion, the Jan De Nul Group's infrastructure and marine services business announced a $ 32 million investment for its new dredging plans in the country.