Alberto Rubio
Without any mention of the Milei-Sánchez dispute and without representatives of the Spanish government in the room. This is how the reception offered by Ambassador Roberto Bosch to commemorate the 214th anniversary of the Revolution of 25 May 1810 – which paved the way for Argentina’s independence – went, and in which he focused his speech on the “unbreakable” ties between the two nations.
“Trade, investment, sport, culture, art, science, defence, citizenship… In all manifestations of social life, and in both Spain and Argentina, there are Spaniards and Argentines working together and weaving powerful links“, said the ambassador to end his speech, stressing that “from this Embassy we will continue to make every effort to ensure that this continues to be the case”.
That was the end. Beforehand, Roberto Bosch began by highlighting “the effort being made by the government, but especially by Argentine society, to clean up our country’s economy and politics“, and listed the “multiple challenges” facing the southern country “to free up Argentina’s productive forces”.
Bosch said that “this open economic and political policy has its counterpart in greater and better integration with the world” and gave as an example “the very intense agenda that we maintain from the embassy, which has to do with this objective and with an unbreakable network of bilateral links”.
The Argentine ambassador, who presented his Credentials to the King on 16 May, recalled that this link is manifested in the fact that Spanish companies “form an indisputable part of our daily reality” and hoped that the reforms underway “will encourage more Spanish companies to invest in our country“.
He also underlined the Embassy’s support for the presence of Argentine companies at numerous trade fairs held in Spain. “We are guided by two main guiding principles: to create opportunities for Argentine talent and to make the quality of our production visible”.
He then referred to other areas that also fulfil a “social integration” function, such as sport and culture, “which strengthen the links between our countries”. In these areas, among other initiatives, he announced that the Embassy “is organising various actions for the 60th anniversary of the ‘birth’ of Mafalda and the 40th anniversary of the death of Julio Cortázar“.
Roberto Bosch reserved for the end a special congratulation for the armed forces of both countries, represented by numerous members at the reception, “for their permanent spirit of exchange and cooperation, which ranges from teaching to joint participation in peace missions, “creating very strong ties of friendship and camaraderie”.
“Spanish blood runs through the veins of almost all Argentines,” he said, before adding that “in recent years Spain has reciprocated with hospitality and opportunities that many of our compatriots have unfortunately not found on our soil.
No high-ranking Spanish officials from either the Presidency of the Government or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were present at the ambassador’s reception, although the director general of Casa América, León de la Torre, did attend. Also present was the diplomat Ildefonso Castro, who, for some weeks now, has been the main foreign policy advisor to the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo.
Several Vox leaders were also present, including the spokesperson of its parliamentary group in the Congress of Deputies, María José Rodríguez de Millán.
Other ambassadors included those from Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Costa Rica, the Netherlands, Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Serbia, Armenia and Japan. Among the guests were also Argentinean and Spanish journalists, as well as businessmen from both countries.
