"The end goal is clear, but we'll accomplish our objectives gradually, in a process that can lead to the building of a true bi-oceanic South America", stated the Argentine ambassador to Chile, Jose Octavio Bordon.
This is the goal being pursued at the XXVIII summit of the Border Integration Committee NOA, Norte Grande, Argentina-Chile, that started yesterday in the city. Representatives of both nations will outline strategies to advance concrete proposals to increase trade between both countries. Governor Juan Manzur, and his counterparts from Jujuy, Gerardo Morales, and Salta, Juan Manuel Urtubey, attended the opening of the meeting. The trans-andean ambassador to Argentina, Jose Antonio Viera Gallo, among others, was also present at the inauguration.
The summit is one of the most important regional integration forums for both countries, where they intend to discuss, coordinate, and find solutions to the inherent difficulties of bilateral border integration.
They will mainly address economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues, as well as the countries' physical integration - encouraging tourism, investment, productive activities, and trade between the regions involved. Valentin Volta Valencia, Mayor of the region of Antofagasta stated in a presentation at the Hilton Garden Inn, Tucuman, that Tucuman would send the first shipment of blueberries to Antofagasta in October, to later introduce them to the US market.
"For the moment, we will ship 67 tons in one trip per week but we expect to be making a daily trip in the future," he said.
In turn, Ambassador Bordon praised the decision to build new highways with North Belgrano; the rapid mobilization of the railway and the Capricorn project that will integrate Mato Grosso in Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina with Chile through an oceanic connection.
Meanwhile, Viera Gallo said that the Jama border crossing had been improved significantly and that they were currently working on the Sico border crossing. "We have proposed to governor Manzur, linking the train that joins Salta with Antofagasta and Mejillones, to Tucuman" said the Chilean ambassador to Argentina, who expects this project to become a part of the Belgrano Plan. "Both countries have prioritized 26 steps, that should be ready in 2030, so that the economies function properly. This will require a 3 billion dollar investment - 2 billion of which will be invested by Chile and 1 by Argentina," said the Chilean diplomat.
The Minister of Productive Development of the province, Juan Luis Fernandez, highlighted how important it was for Chile to have access both to the US and to Southeast Asia through the Pacific. We should be the major suppliers of products for northern Chile, as our weather is completely opposite to theirs, he said. However, he said, we have an insufficient level of integration in business. "I think the the companies from Tucuman can make good use of the free trade agreements that Chile has," he said.
Source: La Gaceta