Doha, Qatar: The return of Qatar Airways passenger flights will contribute to boosting mutual interests between Qatar and Argentina, stressed an official adding that “connectivity plays an important role in the commercial link.”
“We consider that connectivity is essential to strengthening our commercial ties, making it easier for our businessmen and national and subnational authorities to explore opportunities for the benefit of both nations, H E Ramiro Ordoqui, Undersecretary for Multilateral and Bilateral Economic Negotiation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in the Republic of Argentina told The Peninsula in an interview.
He said: “That is why we look forward to the prompt resumption of Qatar Airways passenger flights to Argentina.”
However, the figures for the bilateral commerce between both countries show a considerable concentration on a few items. The official noted that three-quarters of the Argentine exports to Qatar are primarily agro-industrial goods and manufactures of the metalworking sector oriented to the oil and gas industry. On the other hand, the oil and gas industry accounts for three-quarters of the Qatari exports to our country.
Ordoqui lauded Qatar by saying that, “We are grateful to Qatar for having stood as Argentina’s main supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) during the years in which our country relied on gas imports to satisfy the demand of both households and industry.”
Argentina is one of the countries with the largest reserves of unconventional gas, concentrated mainly in the Vaca Muerta basin. Since the past decade, the public-run company YPF has been taking steps to commercially exploit and distribute the gas production of the field. With domestic production on the rise and the first stages of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipe-line finished, Argentina is gradually lowering its dependence on gas imports, stated the ministry official.
“In order to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation it would be important for both our countries to explore possible complementarities in intra-industry exchange. In this regard, I think that the knowledge-based services sector could act as a catalyzer for a renewed economic relation with benefits for both parts,” he explained.
The official asserted “Being a diversified economy that manufactures and exports a wide variety of goods and services, I am confident that Argentina offers great opportunities for Qatari investors across different sectors,”
Among the sectors, Argentina identifies the agri-food industry, manufacturing, infrastructure, tourism, minerals, and energy in addition to the dynamic knowledge-based service companies with impact on a vast range of industries.
Ordoqui remarked that Argentine firms continue to experience successful business ventures in Qatar. He said that “Argentine companies working in a series of dynamic industrial and service sectors have already settled in the region through a constructive approach that involves exploring contacts with local partners and establishing joint ventures.”
“We hope these cases to be a source of inspiration for new Argentine companies willing to do business in the region and to see the Argentine cutting-edge technology cluster playing a more prominent role in Qatar,” Ordoqui added.
The official outlined that Argentina is a member of the selected group of countries that harness atomic energy for peaceful ends, building small and medium-sized modular reactors.
All of this creates an environment with great potential for Qatari individuals to explore investment opportunities.
