CFK starts busy week of diplomacy and universities in NYC

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner arrived in New York yesterday to participate in the 67th UN General Assembly, where she will give a speech tomorrow and hold bilateral meetings with UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The President arrived accompanied by Legal and Technical Secretary Carlos Zannini and Public Communications Secretary Alfredo Scoccimarro, and was met by Argentina’s Ambassador to the US, Jorge Argüello, before travelling to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, where Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman awaited her.

“This trip to the US centres around President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s visits to the academic world,” revealed Argüello to the Buenos Aires Herald yesterday, in reference to scheduled trips to Georgetown and Harvard Universities.

A proposed bilateral meeting between Argentine and Iranian Foreign Ministers to strengthen the relationship between the two states has been mooted — and widely rejected by both Argentine and international Jewish leaders.

According to diplomatic sources, the trip is being described internally as pared-down or “austere”, without the same level public appearances normally associated with the President. During the flight , Fernández de Kirchner apparently spent her time studying documentation on the economy, both Argentina’s and the world’s.

Official sources commented yesterday that the President would speak at 3.30pm (4.30pm Argentine time) tomorrow after her counterparts from Rwanda and Switzerland.

“In terms of the UN, the President plans to speak regarding her vision of the global financial and economic system, and the importance of the shifting of focus from old to new actors in reference to the growing importance of the developing nations,” added Ambassador Argüello.

Fernández de Kirchner is also rumoured to be closely following the brewing row between the US and Brazil over protectionism, according to sources. However, the context of the UN meeting is likely to be overshadowed by different geo-political concerns, notably regarding the Middle East and frustrated advances in peace processes (see page 6.)

After her UN speech, the President will participate in an event at Georgetown University in Washington DC on Wednesday, in which she will inaugurate an academic course space focusing on Argentina, which will hold regular forums aimed at improving relationship between Argentina and the US.

At the end of her stay, the President is expected to visit Cambridge, Massachussetts, where the final act of her official visit will be a presentation to students and professors at Harvard University on Thursday.

While the President conducts her official activities, Foreign Minister Timerman is also expected to have a busy schedule this week, filled with bilateral meetings with UN counterparts from Israel, Russia, Italy, Algeria, Holland, Pakistan, Portugal, Sierra Leone and Slovenia.

Despite Jewish opposition to such a meeting, sources claim Timerman has already scheduled a meeting with his Iranian counterpart.

Commenting on suggestions that this might be the case, Israeli Foreign Minister Yigal Palmor said yesterday: “Any country that seeks to maintain bilateral contact with Tehran must be aware of the danger they are approaching,” adding “terrorist Iran is stronger than ever.”

The Israeli representative also suggested when Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks, “he should be met with an empty hall,” to indicate “a clear message sent by the international community to the regime.”

Herald with Telam