8 August 2016
Secretary-General's remarks at press encounter with Mauricio Macri, President of Argentina

Muchas gracias, Señor Presidente [Macri], Señores y Señoras de la media, buenos días y mucho gusto. Quisiera agradecer al Presidente Macri, a la Canciller Malcorra y al pueblo de Argentina la cálida bienvenida que me han brindado.

Me siento profundamente honrado de estar en Argentina, en mi tercera visita a su hermoso país.

[Thank you very much Mr. President (Macri), ladies and gentlemen of the media, good morning and it is a pleasure. I would like to thank President Macri, Foreign Minister Malcorra and the people of Argentina for the warm welcome they have shown me.  I feel profoundly honoured to be in Argentina, on my third visit to your beautiful country.]

Ladies and Gentlemen, again, thank you very much for your hospitality. Muchas gracias por su hospitalidad.

Argentina is a founding member of the United Nations, and today is an active supporter across a broad agenda of peace, development and human rights. I congratulate on the 200th anniversary of your independence this year.

President Macri and I just had a very good meeting covering all the spectrums of our mutual concern and how to strengthen the partnership between our two - country and organization. We discussed issues – including peacekeeping, climate change, gender equality, and regional issues. I really appreciate President Macri’s leadership on the recent launch of the first national plan against gender violence.

And I thanked him for Argentina’s commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement on climate change. I am deeply grateful and encouraged by the strong commitment as is announced by the President that Argentina is now going to ratify as soon as possible. I have invited him to participate during the high level summit meeting on September 21st, among the world leaders to accelerate the ratification process of the Climate Change Agreement.

I am encouraged to see how Argentina’s national priorities are being aligned with the United Nations development priorities, particularly the Sustainable Development Goals, the 17 SDGs.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Argentina’s peacekeepers – including your impressive medical personnel – have been deployed around the world to promote the shared values of the United Nations.

I would like to highlight Argentina’s participation in the United Nations Mission in Colombia.

We are in the process of deploying a Mission composed of observers.  These observers will monitor the historic ceasefire agreement between the Government of Colombia and the FARC-EP.

We are delighted to have General Javier Pérez Aquino of Argentina as the Chief Observer in the Mission.

I also want to commend Argentina for its solidarity and commitment to human rights and humanitarian issues.  When it comes to justice and the rule of law, the International Criminal Court, led by Madam Sylvia Fernández de Gurmendi has benefited from your country’s expertise and commitment for a better and just world.

For more than two decades, White Helmet volunteers, an Argentine initiative, have been ready to risk their lives in support of those in need of humanitarian assistance.

Argentina is a land of opportunity and this country has attracted immigrants from all over the world. I thank you for your very generous and compassionate leadership, for having agreed to accommodate 3,000 Syrian refugees. As the President just said, the United Nations General Assembly is going to hold a summit meeting to discuss this massive flow of migrants and refugees. The number of refugees at this time has reached 65 million people who had been fleeing around the world – Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya and elsewhere – South Sudan and Somalia – this is an uncontrollable, untenable situation. We are now working on this matter to discuss how we can share globally, based on a shared responsibility, and Argentina is now showing great compassion and leadership and generosity to the people who are in need of such support. I am very much grateful for that.

I am also very happy to work in different capacities with Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra. She used to be a top senior adviser, serving as Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations. Now she is serving your great country as Foreign Minister. A Foreign Minister represents on many occasions your country’s interests and contributions to the world. I am very happy to continue our collaboration in mutually different capacities, but as one team, and a strong partnership.

Thank you very much, Mr. President, for allowing this kind of opportunity.

Once again, I am very pleased to be here to strengthen the UN-Argentina partnership and deepen our shared efforts to promote peace, development and human rights.

Muchas gracias.