Alicia Castro appointed ambassador to the UK

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner appointed Alicia Castro as ambassador to the United Kingdom, and the British government has accepted her credentials, the Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday.

Ambassador Alicia Castro previously worked as an Argentine ambassador to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela until December 2011. 

Originally from the union sector, she worked extensively as national lawmaker of the Buenos Aires province.

“In this occasion, the Argentine Government would like call the British Government once more to return to dialogue in compliance with the United Nation’s resolution on the matter of the Malvinas Island’s sovereignty,” the Ministry’s statement read.

Amidst tensions between the Argentine and British governments over the current administration’s insistence on debating the issue, Castro will become the head of an embassy that has had no leader since August 2008.

Back then, diplomat Federico Mirré retired and the Argentine government decided to leave the position empty in protest to Britain’s refusal to engage in dialogue over the bilateral conflict.

Last December 21st, during an end-of-the-year toast, Fernández de Kirchner had said that Argentina “would be appointing and ambassador to the UK very soon.”

Castro’s designation to lead the Argentine embassy in London is a sign by the Government, who chose someone from the union sector instead of a career diplomat.