Argentina integrates into the world: Foreign Minister Diana Mondino begins her tour of China, France (OECD), Belgium and Portugal

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino will begin a tour of China, France -where she will participate in the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting-, Belgium -with meetings in Brussels with the highest EU authorities-, and Portugal, between 28 April and 7 May. This trip will help Argentina to give new momentum to its integration into the world with the aim of increasing trade and exports and attracting productive investment.

During her first stop, on 28, 29 and 30 April, the Foreign Minister will visit the People's Republic of China, where she will have a number of official meetings and a tight schedule of trade promotion events and meetings with investors.

Joined by a large business delegation from various sectors that represent the Argentine export offer, Mondino will visit the cities of Shanghai and Beijing to participate in forums promoting investment opportunities in Argentina. Additionally, the Foreign Minister will hold working meetings with high-ranking Chinese authorities, including her counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, with whom she will discuss the main bilateral matters.

At the second leg of her trip, the Foreign Minister will participate in the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), to be held in Paris on 2 and 3 May. The meeting is expected to result in the announcement of the approval of the Roadmap that will officially mark the beginning of Argentina's OECD accession process. On the sidelines of this event, Mondino will hold bilateral meetings, including a meeting with the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mathias Cormann.

Between 5 and 6 May, the Minister will travel to Brussels, capital of the Kingdom of Belgium, where she will be received by European Union authorities such as the Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, and the Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, among others. They will address the prospects of bilateral negotiations with the European Union, the Mercosur-EU Agreement and the progress made in recent months to strengthen trade. Furthermore, Mondino's meetings in Brussels are the prelude to the Argentina-EU Joint Commission that will take place on 6 June in Buenos Aires.

Finally, the Foreign Minister will visit Lisbon on 7 May, where she will meet with her counterpart, the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel. In addition, she will be received by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro, with whom she will discuss the need to diversify bilateral trade, ongoing cooperation projects and the potential in terms of renewable energies.