Presentation on Ocean Policies at the Rural Expo 2024

On Friday, July 19, the Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica, Ocean Policy and South Atlantic of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Paola Di Chiaro, made a presentation on ocean policies at an event held at Expo Rural 2024 sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Ministry of Economy.

The National Undersecretary of Aquatic Resources and Fisheries, Juan Antonio López Cazorla, as well as businessmen from the fishing sector and Navy and Naval Prefecture authorities also participated in the event.

Ambassador Di Chiaro's presentation focused on the role of ocean policies within the new responsibilities of the Secretariat, starting with the characterization of Argentina as a maritime and bicontinental country and recognizing the South Atlantic as a strategic asset. In that sense, she mentioned a set of actions developed by the national government to understand and manage what is happening in the maritime environment, highlighting the complexity of the area adjacent to Argentina's exclusive economic zone.

Along the same lines, Secretary Di Chiaro invited to think about maritime zones in their entirety, within the framework of an ocean policy and a national maritime strategy that includes all productive activities, combined with the defense of the health of the oceans and mechanisms of adequate governance.

Next, officials from the Foreign Ministry's Office of the Legal Counsel referred, in the same panel, to the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) recently signed by Foreign Minister Diana Mondino in New York.

In this segment, officials discussed the negotiating process, the main tools of this instrument for the conservation and use of marine resources beyond national jurisdictions and the successful negotiation carried out by Argentina to obtain safeguards that guarantee the national position on sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands, South Georgias, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.

Regarding this Agreement and with a view to its ratification, Di Chiaro expressed that "the sea is the future; we will live in what we have collaborated to build promoting our national interests, or in what others have built, without us and according to their own interests.".