UN General Assembly: Mondino kicked off her diplomatic agenda in New York and met with her counterparts from Ukraine and Qatar

In the context of the High-Level Week of the 79th United Nations General Assembly, whose General Debate will begin on Tuesday 24 September, today, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino kicked off her bilateral meetings agenda in New York as she held working meetings with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Andrii Sybiha, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Sultan Bin Saad Al-Moraikhi.

Earlier today, Mondino met with the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha. They both welcomed the current great moment of the bilateral relationship between Argentina and Ukraine and expressed their willingness to continue deepening ties, on the basis of shared values and common positions on topics including the strengthening of democracy and the rule of law, respect for international law and multilateralism.

Foreign Minister Sybiha referred to the situation faced by his country in nuclear safety matters and Foreign Minister Mondino explained that Argentina has engaged in the "Radiation and Nuclear Safety" and "Implementation of the United Nations Charter and the Territorial Integrity of Ukraine" Peace Formula working groups.

The Argentine Foreign Minister also stressed that "Argentina, a country that produces and exports nuclear technology for peaceful uses, is closely following and concerned about the nuclear safety situation in Ukraine, as I stated recently at the International Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and, given our experience and background in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, you can count on our support."

Mondino then held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, Sultan Bin Saad Al-Moraikhi.

During the meeting, Mondino said to her Qatari counterpart that "Argentina wishes to strengthen economic ties with Qatar. We need to increase, diversify and balance mutual trade. The current level of our exchange is well below its potential."

"Our country may well be a reliable supplier of halal products and play a key role in food supply, thereby contributing to food security for the country and the region. We also have quite solid capabilities in a variety of knowledge-intensive areas, which makes us part of a group of countries that export high-quality, high value-added services," the Minister added.

The Foreign Minister also availed herself of the opportunity to thank the State of Qatar for the good offices it has carried out and still carries out for the release of the hostages taken by Hamas last 7 October. These offices resulted in the release of Argentine citizens, among others. The two Foreign Ministers agreed to continue with the efforts to achieve the release of all hostages and to work towards a solution based on dialogue and negotiations for that region.

Address at the United Nations General Assembly

During the Summit of the Future Plenary at the United Nations General Assembly, the Foreign Ministry expressed that "Argentina is determined to work in a freedom framework for people, so that they can take decisions and be responsible for their actions under equal rules for all. We want to address the challenges of terrorism, the threats to territorial integrity, democracy, international security and economic development. In order to do this, we take as our guide the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. Deviations from these purposes and principles create problems not just in a given country, which loses its own freedom, but also for countries interacting with that country."

She also added that Argentina "is convinced that an agenda should not be made up of mere declarations. We need to state how we are going to achieve this. In that regard, we believe that the model that is capable to do this is that of economic freedom. Hunger can be ended if we guarantee more trade and not less; and development can be achieved with the enhancement of respect for institutions, especially prioritizing respect for private property."

"In exercising that freedom, my country would like to recall that Agendas such as this one that brings us together today are made up of aspirations which, legally speaking, are not binding and every State, as they exercise their sovereignty, has the right to interpret and implement them autonomously, taking into account the various realities, capacities and levels of development of each country and respecting its national policies and priorities, as stated by Resolution 70/1 of the General Assembly," she held.

In closing, Mondino stated that "many points of this Pact, and its annexes, have reservations and objections or are retrogressive with respect to Argentina's new agenda. These documents have been worked on since 2022 with another administration and the current Argentine government came across already advanced negotiations. Nevertheless, we have proposed various constructive actions which were not always taken into account and that makes us take a separate path. However, when it comes to the Pact of the Future, our reservations and objections are not an obstacle for Argentina as, on the contrary, we want to have wings for our growth in freedom."

After reaffirming the Argentine commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes and an international order based on democratic rules and values, she affirmed that our country "is determined to continue working, as we have always done, to think together about how we can face the new global challenges that urge and challenge us as humanity. Not just words, but work and more work is the best solution. We want to be free to choose a better world that, I am sure, the members of this Assembly also want to guarantee for all the children, men and women that make up our common home."

Tomorrow, among other activities, Mondino will accompany President Javier Milei during his address at the New York Stock Exchange before investors and during the opening of the trading session.

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