The chairman of the African Affairs Committee at the Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI), Jose Nestor Ureta, said he was convinced that the future Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline will have a positive impact on the countries it will pass through along the west coast. -African.
For this former Argentinian ambassador to Nigeria, “the project is very important and, despite its high cost, it will be very beneficial in the long term for West African countries”.
In an interview with MAP, Nestor Ureta expressed hope that the project would come to fruition soon. “The work done gives me the impression that this is going to be very important for all these countries. It will bring a series of opportunities that do not exist today,” he said.
This eminent member of CARI, an Argentinian Think Tank which brings together the country’s luminaries in the field of international relations, estimated that Africa has enormous growth potential, thanks to its natural resources and the dynamism of a population young and enterprising.
“Africa will have to resolve its problems by its own means, and from that moment on, it will be able to play an increasingly important role on the international scene,” underlined this fine connoisseur of the workings of African politics.
Asked about the Atlantic Initiative launched by HM King Mohammed VI, the president of the “Africa Committee” of SEARCH began by highlighting the place occupied by Morocco on the world map of maritime transport, noting that the Kingdom is at the forefront in terms of competitiveness and efficiency of its ports.
José Nestor Ureta particularly emphasized Morocco’s potential in this area with its 3,500 km of coastline and its dozens of ports.
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The former Argentine diplomat recalled that a UN resolution had established the South Atlantic as a “zone of peace and cooperation”, which puts the spotlight on the African and South American coasts.
“Argentina is trying to strengthen and revitalize this zone of peace and cooperation, particularly in terms of security, fisheries and bilateral trade objectives,” continued Jose Nestor Ureta.
“I think this is a very important aspect for which we must promote the Global South (…) and in this context, Morocco is an important country which has free trade agreements with the United States, the Union European Union and Turkey. A similar agreement is being negotiated with Mercosur,” he said.
Addressing his country’s relations with Africa, Jose Nestor Ureta said from the outset that he “has absolutely no doubt that greater rapprochement with Africa is necessary. (…) We maintain excellent relations with all African countries”, where the Argentine Fund for South-South and Triangular Cooperation (FO.AR) carries out numerous projects, particularly in the agro-industrial sectors.
Other opportunities for cooperation with African countries have been seized in the satellite communications sectors in Nigeria and in the areas of nuclear energy and the pharmaceutical industry.
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Argentina is also a recipient of fertilizers necessary for its agricultural sector, particularly from Morocco.
In Cari, he added, the “Africa Committee” deploys a varied program to bring Argentinians closer to history and current African issues.
Beyond the stereotypes about Africa, this institution makes it its duty to promote “another aspect of Africa that people do not know, Africa is prosperous and Africa is growing, particularly in the sub-Saharan region. », which has experienced meteoric growth in recent years (Angola, Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda).
CARI had also organized days of reflection on the 25 years of the Rwandan genocide and “celebrated, in November 2019 during a memorable seminar, the 24 African Nobel Prize winners”.
Jose Nestor Ureta, who was also his country’s ambassador to the Philippines, is legal advisor to the Argentine chancellery.
During his long career as a diplomat, he notably chaired the Legal and Political Commission of the Organization of American States (OAS) on Terrorism in 1996 and actively participated in the negotiations which led to the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of Terrorism. from 1997.
Jose Nestor Ureta is professor of public international law at the universities of Buenos Aires (UBA) and Belgrano.
With MAP
