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Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

AN APPROACH TO NON-TRADITIONAL PARTNERS: THE EVOLUTION OF

THE TIES BETWEEN ARGENTINA AND THE GULF MONARCHIES DURING

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF CRISTINA FERNANDEZ (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

ornela_fabani@hotmail.com

Holder of a PhD in International Relations, Faculty of Political Science and International Relations

at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR, Argentina). Postdoctoral Fellow at the National

Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET). First Assistant in the "Foreign Policy" Chair

at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations at the Universidad Nacional de

Rosario (UNR).

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the evolution of the political-diplomatic and

the economic and trade links between Argentina and the Gulf monarchies, as well as the

factors that explain this evolution, during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-

2015). Meanwhile, the premise that informs it is that that during Fernandez's governments

the political and diplomatic relations between Argentina and the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

and Qatar became more dynamic as a result of the Argentine interest in strengthening

economic and trade ties with those States.

The deepening of these ties is explained in terms of some of the main areas of Argentina's

foreign trade policy, which focus on the following: to diversify trade partners, attract

investment and increase the volume of trade. Moreover, the aforementioned actors are

perceived as potential partners in that the Gulf monarchies need to ensure food security and

advance technological cooperation, in a context marked by the international financial crisis.

Keywords:

Argentina; Gulf monarchies; Cristina Fernandez; diplomatic political ties; trade and

economic relations

How to cite this article

Fabani, Ornela (2015). "An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties

between Argentina and the Gulf monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez

(2007-2015). JANUS.NET e-journal of International Relations, Vol. 6, N.º 2, November

2015-April 2016. Consulted [online] on date of last visit,

observare.ual.pt/janus.net/en_vol6_n2_art02

Article received on 29 May 2015 and accepted for publication on 15 October 2015

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

AN APPROACH TO NON-TRADITIONAL PARTNERS: THE EVOLUTION OF

THE TIES BETWEEN ARGENTINA AND THE GULF MONARCHIES DURING

THE ADMINISTRATIONS OF CRISTINA FERNANDEZ (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

Introduction

The Arabian Gulf, located on the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia, is an area of

geostrategic importance not only because it is the meeting point of three continents -

Asia, Africa and Europe - but also because of its hydrocarbon reserves. The six Gulf

monarchies - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Oman, and

Qatar have about 30% of proven global oil reserves. Moreover, these six states

together control 23% of proven global gas reserves (Meltzer, Hultman, Langley, 2014:

18).

As a result, thanks to the importance that these resources have for these countries’

economies, they have obtained economic benefits that have allowed them to

experience exponential growth in recent decades. Argentina's interest in approaching

those states falls within this context, as they not only have vast resources but also

huge sovereign funds, and are potential partners due to their need to ensure access to

food and technology. In fact, despite the significance of the human rights issue as one

of the main axes of Argentina's political agenda and the tensions that it could generate,

the link with the Gulf monarchies has deepened in recent years.

That said, the general aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the evolution of the

political-diplomatic and the economic and trade links between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies, as well as the factors that explain this evolution, during the

administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015). We have chosen this timeframe

because we believe that it was during these governments that contacts increased,

particularly between Argentina, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar. Moreover,

Buenos Aires’ approach to these states during the proposed study period is unparalleled

in the history of the relations between them.

Taking into consideration the aforementioned points, we take the following initial

supposition as a guideline hypothesis: during the governments of Cristina Fernandez,

the political and diplomatic relations between Argentina and the UAE, Saudi Arabia,

Kuwait and Qatar became particularly more dynamic as a result of the Argentine

interest in strengthening economic and trade ties with those states.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

In this respect, deepening those ties results from Argentina’s objectives in terms of

foreign trade policy, including: diversify trade partners, attract investment and increase

the volume of trade. Moreover, Argentina perceived the aforementioned actors to be

potential partners due to Gulf monarchies’ need to ensure food security and advance

technological cooperation in a context marked by the international financial crisis.

Given the above, it is relevant to explain a number of ideas and concepts that are key

to the analysis. In our view, foreign policy is

"a particular area of government action encompassing three

analytically separable dimensions: political-diplomatic, military-

strategic and economic and trade, which acts externally against a

wide range of actors and governmental and non-governmental

institutions, both bilaterally and multilaterally" (Russell, 1990:

255).

Nevertheless, it is important to note that this study aims to examine only two of these

dimensions: the political-diplomatic and the economic and trade.

It should be pointed out that this public policy (Ingram, Fiederlein, 1988) aims to give

visibility and translate the strategy of the political society, or part of it, to propose ways

of inserting the state in the global context (Miranda, 1988: 22). In this regard, the

inclusion or condition to be taken into account by politics and the world economy

(Miranda, 2001: 169) has been a major concern both in the government of Nestor

Kirchner (203-2007) and during the administrations of his wife, Cristina Fernandez

(2007-2015), which have sought to achieve it by expanding the margins for

autonomous action.

Indeed, after a decade of exclusive insertion (Miranda, 2001: 173) or coupling

according to Russell and Tokatlian (2013: 162), these administrations have opted to

diversify their external links leading to greater relative autonomy regarding Argentina's

external action.

We agree with those who point out that both during the Kirchner government and

Fernández’s administrations, Argentina's foreign policy has had a strong economistic

imprint (Zelikovitz, 2011: 6). This becomes evident if we consider the place the

renegotiation of the foreign debt has had on the agenda, as well as these

administrations’ attempts for international links to translate into new business

opportunities in different regions, in export diversification and in new investment.

It is in this context that Argentina’s approach to the Gulf monarchies occurs, as the

latter emerge as potential partners, since

"they are markets that currently have low relevance with regard to

the volume of operations, but which constitute important

opportunities for Argentine products" (Grosso, Moldovan and

Todesca, 2009: 6).

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

Finally, it should be noted that the link between Argentina and the Gulf monarchies has

scarcely been addressed by academia, while most of the analyses on the subject come

from the media. In this regard, although academics have paid attention to the link

Argentina established with another Gulf State, such as Iran (Botta, 2010, 2012), there

are few works referring Argentina’s foreign policy towards the Gulf monarchies. Among

them we can point to a series of articles produced by the Centro de Estudios en

Relaciones Internacionales de Rosario – CERIR (Centre for Studies in International

Relations in Rosario) that examine Argentina's foreign policy toward the Middle East

during the administrations of presidents Menem, De la Rúa (Carrancio 1998, 2001),

Duhalde, Kirchner and Fernández (Paredes, 2008, 2010), although none pays special

attention to our particular object of study. On the other hand, it is important to mention

that trade and economic ties with these actors is the area that has been studied the

most (Stumberger; Poggi, 2011). That said, we intend to advance the study about the

future of these ties using various secondary sources - mainly articles in the national

and international press - and also primary ones - official speeches, Proceedings of the

State of the Union, press releases and semi-structured interviews.

The deepening of political-diplomatic ties

The Middle East has not occupied a privileged place on the agenda of Argentina’s

external relations. Conversely, over time it has been a marginal area with regard to its

political and economic relations. From an overall perspective this can be explained by

virtue of the distance between Buenos Aires and those territories and also due to the

absence of a shared idiosyncrasy, since in religious, social and cultural terms, Argentina

is markedly different from those countries. These are countries with diverse ethnic and

religious groups, as well as different political regimes, which in recent decades have

gained notoriety internationally due to increasing conflict in the area. Nevertheless,

during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez there was an approach to the states in

the region, as attested by the following: proliferation of visits and high-level meetings

with representatives of various Arab countries, very active participation in the ASPA

Summits, the reopening of the Arab League Office in Buenos Aires in February 2008,

and Argentine support for the Palestinian cause. One cannot ignore the involvement of

Buenos Aires in the Palestine Donors Conference, the opening of Argentina’s Diplomatic

Representation Office in Ramallah in 2008, the sending of white helmets to Gaza

following the Operation Cast Lead in 2009, and recognition at bilateral and multilateral

levels of the Palestinian state, in 2010 and 2011, respectively (Fabani, 2012: 70 ff).

Furthermore, Argentina's approach to the Palestinian cause and, as a correlation,

adjustment1

1 These are the variations in the intensity of effort and the adjustment of objectives against one or more

items on the foreign policy agenda (Hermann, 1990: 5).

to its traditional policy of equidistance with regard to the Israeli-

Palestinian conflict during this administration are signs of the greater scope for

autonomous action that the country acquired during the reference period. In this

framework, during Fernandez’s governments the increase in political and diplomatic ties

with a group of actors with which Argentina has not traditionally maintained a close

relationship stands out. These countries are the Gulf monarchies, specifically Saudi

Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Qatar.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

It should be stressed that these four countries share a common language – Arabic-,

religion and a similar culture precisely because most of their inhabitants follow the

Islamic religion. Meanwhile, at political level the four have a monarchical form of

government and, in economic terms, they rely on heavily oil-dependent economies.

Nevertheless, one cannot overlook the fact that each of these states also has its

peculiarities. They differ in terms of number of inhabitants, territorial extension,

characteristics of the political system, foreign policy options, military capabilities,

progress in terms of economic diversification, and in the proportion of Shiites and

Sunnis faithful among them.

The population of Saudi Arabia exceeds 27 million and the extension of its territory

reaches 2,149,690 km2 (Diplomatic Information Office of Spain, 2015: 1), making it

the most populous and largest of the four countries. It is the country with the largest

army and the oldest alliance with the United States.

As for Kuwait, it stands out due to its greater political openness comparing with its

neighbours. In fact, the emirate has the oldest and most entrenched pro-democracy

institutions (Crystal, 2005: 1).

For its part, out of the four the UAE is the country that has made most progress in

terms of economic diversification. So much so that Dubai has become an international

tourism destination. It has also become a major economic, commercial and financial

centre. Partly driven by this development, there has been a boom in construction

(Sturm, 2008: 14).

Finally, Qatar has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, and its income

derives mainly from oil and natural gas exports. This country is the largest producer of

liquefied gas in the world and owns 14% of gas reserves globally (Gulf Exporting

Country Forum, 2015).

After this brief description, we refer to an increase in political-diplomatic ties with these

countries. During the Fernandez governments there was a substantial increase in

presidential trips, ministerial visits and high-level contacts with representatives of those

countries and there was even opening of new embassies. So much so that, without

being exhaustive, in 2009 Argentina received the visit of the UAE Foreign Minister, in

2010 the Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar, and the Prime Minister of Kuwait. In

addition, in 2011, President Fernandez began a visit that took her to Kuwait and Qatar.

With regard to Fernandez’s second government, in 2012 the Argentine Vice President

Amado Boudou received the ambassador of Kuwait on a visit in which the latter

expressed his country’s manifest support for Argentina’s claim to sovereignty of the

Falkland Islands, as stipulated in UN resolutions (Ministry of Communication,

03/05/2012).

Later the Vice President travelled to Qatar to participate in the XIII Doha Forum on

issues related to democracy, social development and free trade in the Middle East.

Likewise, also in 2012, the UAE ambassador was received by our President; in 2013

Fernandez made the first visit by an Argentine head of state to that country, a gesture

of high political impact that was followed by a visit of the UAE Vice President to Buenos

Aires the following year.

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

Regarding Saudi Arabia, and comparing with the rest of the Gulf monarchies, relations

with Riyadh go back longer, particularly if we consider that the kingdom was among the

first Arab countries with which Argentina established diplomatic relations, which in this

case date back to 1946. Argentina opened its first embassy in the Gulf in the city of

Jeddah in 1948, becoming the first Latin American country to have a diplomatic

representation in that country. Similarly, traditionally trade relations with this state

have been smoother, but it was only in 2014, for the first time in the history of bilateral

relations with the kingdom, that an Argentine Foreign Minister led the visit of a

delegation to that country (Telam, 19.2.2014). Also in line with the strengthening of

ties between the aforementioned actors, in 2008 the UAE opened its embassy in

Buenos Aires, while in the framework of the visit of Fernandez to Qatar in 2011, a

commitment to open an Argentine embassy in Qatar and a Qatar embassy in Buenos

Aires was made, which materialised in 2013 when both states appointed their first

ambassadors.

Thus, Argentina currently has embassies in four of the six Gulf monarchies, as in the

case of Oman and Bahrain there is a concurrent representation in the Saudi kingdom.

Albeit with a lower weight, another indicator of that approach between the parties lies

in the arrival of Qatar Airways and Emirates to Argentina. The Doha-Buenos Aires and

the Dubai-Buenos Aires routes were initiated in 2010 and 2011 respectively, both with

a stop in Brazil.

However, it is noteworthy that the momentum in the relations with the four actors

studied here has not had the same drive as regards the link with Oman and Bahrain. As

for contacts with the latter, we can only mention that in 2011, at the invitation of the

provincial government, the Crown Prince of Bahrain visited Santiago del Estero

accompanied by a delegation of investors and entrepreneurs (official site of the

Province of Santiago del Estero, 22/06/2011). Meanwhile, a year later, the Argentine

ambassador to that country, based in Saudi Arabia, was received by the Bahraini Vice

Prime Minister and by the Minister of Electricity and Water, in October 2012, in two

meetings where the parties manifested their willingness to deepen bilateral ties.

Nevertheless, we were unable to collect data that account for higher level official visits

either to or from Oman and Bahrain during this period. Moreover, it is noteworthy that

during his visit to the country, the Crown Prince of Bahrain has not been received by

senior government officials, particularly if we consider that neither a Bahraini prince nor

a sultan of Oman have ever visited Argentina. It is also true that there is no record of a

visit by an Argentine president to these nations.

Either way, even despite the incipient contacts with these two actors, our survey data

show that in recent years the political and diplomatic relations with the other four Gulf

monarchies have become increasingly more important.

As for the the government’s view of these links, Foreign Minister Timerman stated: "We

have to create a channel for direct dialogue with the Arab countries, as they are part of

the G-77 we now preside to, and we need to make alliances. We have to realize that

the things are happening today in other places, and that countries that 20 years ago

had no relevance increasingly begin to have greater importance" (Page 12,

16/01/2011). Moreover, in another speech, he said that Argentina appreciates the

opportunities for dialogue with these actors given that it has enabled coordinating

positions on various agenda items, as well as providing new forms of South-South

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

cooperation (Ministry of Communication, 01/12/2010). Since the first meeting ASPA

Summit, Arab countries have supported Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands,

calling on the parties to resume negotiations to find a definitive solution to the dispute,

a position that also has been endorsed by senior officials from the Gulf monarchies

within the framework of various bilateral meetings.

In order to explain the deepening of political contacts with the four Gulf monarchies, it

is necessary to understand the context in which they began to take place, marked by

the international financial crisis, and to examine the main lines of the foreign trade

policy of the Fernandez’s governments which, in continuity with the Kirchner

administration, aimed at diversifying trading partners, attract investment and increase

the volume of trade.

In fact, in our view, economic and commercial interests have played a central role in

advancing the political and diplomatic relations between Argentina and the Gulf

countries, in line with the said economist imprint that characterised foreign policy

during this period. Moreover, it appears that Argentina’s expectations in terms of

business deals with these potential partners have even led the country to avoid

criticising the regimes in those nations.

In this regard, although Gandini and Lambert state (2011: 1) that ideology and

pragmatism are integral components of foreign policy - indeed of all political activity in

the broadest sense – which are in continuous tension, with regard to the ties between

Argentina and the Gulf monarchies the second prevails. Human rights are part of the

internal and external agendas of the Kirchner and Fernández governments and they

have preached in defence of democracy. However, Argentina has not committed to

these principles at meetings with the Gulf countries, whether in the context of bilateral

encounters or at ASPA summits, despite the characteristics of these regimes, which are

often referred to as absolute monarchies (Levins: 2013, 388) due to the broad

prerogatives held by the king, and the few opportunities for political participation of

their citizens, in countries that do not even allow the formation of political parties. Not

to mention other practices conducted by these states that have been condemned by

organizations such as Amnesty International for violating human rights. The Argentine

government’s attitude allows us to conclude that with respect to the link with these

actors there has been no consistency between official rhetoric and practice. On the

contrary, we emphasize once again that in this case pragmatism has prevailed, and

these principles that appear again and again in official speeches have been replaced by

an approach to the Arab counterparts that aims to deepen a bond that is expected to

result in increased economic and commercial benefits.

The promotion of economic and trade relations

The analysis of the visits, meetings and high-level contacts between Argentine

representatives and the Gulf monarchies during the governments of Cristina Fernandez

clearly shows that their ultimate goals were to do business and promote investment.

This in line with a series of "strategic objectives" of her administrations aimed at:

"growth and diversification of our sales to the world; creating a

strong export culture within the national productive sector; and

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

generating genuine resources to ensure the sustainable growth of

our economy, boosting production and creating quality jobs, with

the aim of achieving an increasingly equitable distribution of

income" (Ministry of Communication, 21 / 12/2011).

These objectives are consistent with the

"economic accumulation model with diversified sources and social

inclusion" (Fernandez, 2007).

To this end, Foreign Minister Timerman said:

"the growth of our sales to the world recognizes as one of its

pillars the strategy of diversifying our exports and a trade policy

that gives priority to opening new markets for Argentine exports,

aiming at positioning domestic production in less traditional

markets like Africa - particularly the Maghreb region -, the Middle

East, India and Southeast Asia, among others" (Ministry of

Communication, 21/12/2011);

there are areas the government has come closer to, basically after the 2008 crisis.

Indeed, after the outbreak of the crisis, which particularly affected developed countries

and, among them, some of the largest economies in the world, they tended to react by

increasing their protectionist policies. In this context, Argentina chose to redouble its

efforts by promoting exports of products with higher added value and also by

diversifying export destinations, with emphasis on the opening of new markets in

emerging countries with high growth rates. With regard to the aforementioned non-

traditional partners, a press release of the Argentina Foreign Ministry of 14 February

2014 stressed that the Gulf monarchies are strategic destinations for many reasons.

"These include their prominent role in the oil and gas markets and

the high current account surpluses that allow them to accumulate

surpluses to spend on consumption and investment. Of these three

destinations, Saudi Arabia is the largest economy. Like us, it is a

member of the G20, a forum where we hold similar positions on

many issues of the international agenda. In addition to the

potential of bilateral relations, Saudi Arabia is an important trading

partner of our country, given that in 2013 it joined the list of

destinations to which we export over 1,000 million dollars

annually. Qatar has the world's third largest gas reserves and is

the world's largest exporter of liquefied gas. Because of this it is

interesting to promote cooperation in technologies for the use of

CNG. In this field, there are opportunities for both countries to

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

benefit from technological development and accumulated

experience, either commercially or through investments. The UAE

has one of the highest per capita income in the region and is a hub

from which products are re-exported from around the world to Asia

and the Middle East". (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship,

Press Release No. 028/14).

This official communication illustrates Argentina’s interest in deepening ties with the

Gulf states, hoping to benefit from economic and commercial opportunities.

However, despite Argentina’s intention to deepen ties with these countries, the volume

of trade both between Argentina and the twenty-two Arab States and between the

former and the Gulf monarchies is still low. In this regard, we find that in 2013

Argentine exports to the Arab world totalled US$ 5,992,475,840 FOB (Argentine Arab

Chamber of Commerce, 2015th). Regarding the group of states we are interested in,

Saudi Arabia was the third export destination within the group of Arab countries and

the first among the Gulf monarchies. In 2013 Argentina exported to Riyadh US$

1,162,995,137 FOB (Argentine Arab Chamber of Commerce, 2015b). Meanwhile, in

2013, total imports from the Arab world totalled US$ 1,334,538,665 CIF (Argentine

Arab Chamber of Commerce, 2015th), making Qatar the country in the region from

which Argentina imported the most, with a total of US$ 1,060,504,730 CIF, followed far

behind by the UAE, with US$ 49,494,161 CIF, and by Saudi Arabia, with a total of US$

19,659,555 CIF, in the third and fifth places, respectively (Argentine Arab Chamber of

Commerce, 2015b).

Regarding the composition of exports, while products sold to each of these countries

are varied, it is important to note that approximately 60% of Argentine exports to the

Middle East are foodstuffs (Poggi, 2011: 2). The sales of grain (mostly maize), fats and

oils, oilseeds and fruits and meats stand out. In line with the above statistics, the

manager of the Argentine Arab Chamber of Commerce, Pablo Foudaro2

Argentina's imports from the Arab countries are lean. The analysis of what is bought

from these countries shows there there is a huge diversity of products, ranging from

food imports, such as cookies, dates and packaged products, to clothing, gas and fuel

, says that

although cereals and oils are the main export to Arab countries, Argentine food sales

include more produces, such as dairy products, honey, vegetables, dried fruit and fish.

Besides foodstuffs, Argentina also exports car parts, steel pipes, working machines,

tools, and medicines for human and veterinary use.

On the other hand, exports to the Gulf countries under analysis are in line with exports

to other countries, as foodstuffs are the main products of Argentina’s exports to those

markets, while gas, fuel and petroleum products

2 Interview by the author to Paul Fodaro, manager of the Argentine Arabic Chamber of Commerce, Buenos

Aires, 12/03/2013.

are the main imported products. 98%

3 Ibid.

4 In this regard it is interesting that, broadly speaking, Argentine exports and imports are in line with the

main items exported and imported by member countries of MERCOSUR. A fact to be taken into

consideration is that the MERCOSUR and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising Saudi Arabia,

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE block, in 2004 signed a Framework Agreement on Economic

cooperation to promote cooperation in economic, commercial, technical and investment, and created a

Joint Committee with the task of working towards concluding a Free Trade Agreement. Still, negotiations

towards achieving that goal have slowed down since 2007. Moreover, it should be emphasized that among

JANUS.NET, e-journal of International Relations

ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

of total imports from Qatar in 2013 was petroleum gas (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

Worship, 2013b), while about 40% of imports from the UAE in the same year was

aviation fuel (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, 2013b)5

Considering that the Gulf monarchies are among the countries with the largest proven

oil reserves globally, the potential of exchanges with them present opportunities for

those who manufacture machinery and accessories that may be needed for that

industry. Furthermore, given their soil and climate characteristics, plus the population

growth expected in these countries, there are possibilities for increased Argentine

exports of raw materials and processed food, particularly considering that, according to

recent estimates, the population of these countries will double by 2030, which would

coincide with a downward trend in local agricultural production, which is already visible

today (Moya Mena, 2011: 4).

Indeed, Saudi Arabia, a large consumer of wheat, in 2008 announced it would begin

decreasing its production of this and other grains due to the water shortage in its

territory (Blas, England, 2008), announcing it should be reserved only to meet the

basic consumption of the population. Since then, Saudi wheat production has been

reduced by two thirds (Lakis, 2011).

On this, Foudaro6

In addition, Gulf countries have shown interest in deepening technological cooperation

with Argentina, for example, in terms of technology applied to agribusiness. These

countries have expressed the need to gain knowledge regarding technology for

intensive and extensive livestock breeding, animal genetics, industrial processing of

agricultural products, sowing and soil management, irrigation and seed genetic

improvement. Moreover, they have also expressed their desire to become familiar with

CNG technology. Some of these countries are also interested in becoming familiar with

notes that the Arab countries’ need for food is expected to grow and

stresses that Argentina has conditions to increase trade with those countries in the field

of agribusiness. He adds that since 2010 Argentina has hosted delegations, particularly

from Saudi Arabia, who arrived in the country to sign joint venture agreements. These

agreements provide that the Arab side contributes to the sowing process with capital

and then has a part of the production. Moreover, it has also been reported that Qatari

authorities have held talks with their Argentine counterparts to finalize the purchase of

land that would later be used for agricultural activity.

the members of the South American bloc it is Brazil that is fostering trade with the GCC. So much so that

in 2012 Brasilia was responsible for 86% of exports and 89% of imports from that area, followed by

Argentina with 13% of exports and 10% of imports. The other members of MERCOSUR have little

commercial presence in the Gulf monarchies. Furthermore, in diplomatic terms Brazil has a major

presence in the area, since it has embassies in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia, followed

by Argentina, with diplomatic presence in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar. Uruguay has embassies in

Qatar and Saudi Arabia, and Paraguay has no diplomatic presence in the region, (Bartesaghi, Manghana,

2014: 17).

5 Considering Qatar’s significant natural gas reserves, already referred above, during the visit of Fernandez

to this country in 2011 the Argentine Planning Minister, along with the Qatar’s Energy Minister signed the

Framework Convention Development and Implementation of Energy Integration Projects, which foresees

the conduction of studies for the building of a regasification plant in the Gulf of San Matias, in the Río

Negro, allowing Argentina to import 20 million cubic meters of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per day.

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the presidential visit to Saudi Arabia in 2013, the two governments signed

an agreement enabling the UAE to supply LNG to Energía Argentina Sociedad Anónima (ENARSA), from

2014 onwards for a period of 20 years. Specifically, this agreement foresees the provision of 5 million

tons of LNG a year, making it the first long-term agreement that the Emirates signed with a country in

South America. Reference is made to these agreements as it is considered that their accomplishment

could bring with it a significant increase in Argentine imports from the above destinations.

6 Interview by the author to Paul Fodaro, manager of the Argentine Arabic Chamber of Commerce, Op. Cit.

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An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

Argentine advances in nuclear energy and learning about its peaceful uses. This is

mainly a result of increased energy demand in these countries due to the need to carry

forward the process of desalination of sea water and the increasing consumption of

water for refrigeration purposes. One must not forget that these countries tend to have

temperatures above 45 degrees and have limited freshwater supplies, as in the

particularly worrying cases of Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, which face absolute water

scarcity

(Luomi, 2011: 252)7. As a result, these states have chosen to overcome the difficult

situation they are facing by resorting to desalination, which is an energy intensive

process. The consumption of resources these processes entail, the environmental and

opportunity costs that they involve with regard to the export of hydrocarbons or their

use on an industrial level, makes the need for change in the energy mix of these

countries evident. This explains their interest in developing nuclear energy and their

approach to Argentina, a country that has made substantial advancements in this field.

In any case, the links in this area between Argentina and the Gulf monarchies are at

different stages, Saudi Arabia and the UAE being the countries with which Argentina

has made the biggest advances8

Considering the above, in recent years the Fernandez governments have fostered

actions to enhance business opportunities with the Gulf monarchies, including official

visits, participation in international fairs and trade missions. To this effect, in 2010 a

delegation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina visited

Riyadh. Then, in 2012 senior officials of the Ministry returned to Saudi Arabia on a tour

that also took them to the UAE. In early 2013 the head of the agricultural affairs

returned to the UAE. This last visit took place as part of the tour made by President

Fernandez, which was characterized by placing the emphasis on economic relations,

evidenced by the fact that she travelled with a large number of entrepreneurs who

were part of a multi-sector trade mission. Also towards this end, the first multi-sector

trade mission in the framework of the Growth and Diversification of Exports Programme

(PADEx)

Regarding the efforts of the Argentine Ministry of Agriculture to foster ties with the Gulf

monarchies, it should be mentioned that, due to the importance of agriculture and

livestock, the Argentine government sees them as keys to penetrate markets in the

area (Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, 09.10.2013). Still, these are

other areas Buenos Aires wishes to deepen exchanges and cooperation with these non-

traditional partners. In several meetings with officials from Qatar, Argentine authorities

was held in 2014 in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, demonstrating

Argentina’s interest in penetrating those markets. Although a trade mission to Oman

was planned for October of that year, it ended up being postponed (Centro de

Despachantes de Aduana de la República Argentina, 09.08.2014).

7 Countries that have less than 500 m3 of renewable fresh water per person per year face absolute water

scarcity.

8 For additional information see: KRAKOWIAK, Fernando (2014). “La exportación de tecnología nuclear al

mundo”. Tecnología nuclear para el desarrollo Edit U-238. Año 2, No 18, 2014

9 This export promotion programme is intended to "improve Argentine exports in quantitative and

qualitative terms". Its specific objectives include: "increase traditional exports, contribute to export

development of regional economies, increase the number of exporting companies, diversify export

destinations and the export basket" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship). In order to achieve those

goals twenty-four countries have been chosen as a focus of the shipments to be sent abroad: nine Latin

American and fifteen emerging destinations. Among the latter are countries that meet the criteria of being

BRICS and other large emerging and/or extra-regional emerging nations with large import capacity; Of

these, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs chose: Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

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Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

have referred to the associative potential between the two countries, given the

compressed natural gas (CNG) technology developed in Argentina for cars and Qatar’s

plans to use part of its major gas production fuel for public transport.

Finally, the frequency of these visits is unprecedented, as not even during the Kirchner

administration did so many visits take place. They indicate the interest of the

Fernandez administrations to boost bilateral relations with potential benefits for all

these states, particularly given the complementarity of their economies. This interest is

also reflected in the negotiation and signing of agreements that were facilitated by the

aforementioned high-level contacts10

Outside the purely commercial level, the actions taken to promote links between the

parties also aimed at attracting investment from the Gulf countries. In fact, contacts

fostered by Argentine representatives are also part of the government’s strategy to

deepen its ties with countries holding surplus capital. In the 2011 official tour,

Argentina submitted twenty five projects to the Kuwait Investment Authority and

twenty one projects to the Qatar Investment Authority. It is worth mentioning that at

that time both nations declared Argentina to be a "strategic investment destination"

(Cibeira, 2011), a decision that is expected to pave the way for capital inflows,

particularly at a time when Buenos Aires aims to raise funds, taking advantage of the

current situation after the crisis of 2008, which took these funds away from financial

assets

Conclusion

In this article we have seen that during the governments of Cristina Fernandez there

has been a boost in the political and diplomatic ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies, particularly the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, attested by the

multiplication of high-level contacts, presidential visits, the opening of diplomatic

10 Just to cite a few examples, in 2009 the negotiations for trade cooperation agreements with Bahrain and

Qatar (Head of Cabinet of Ministers, 2009) were completed, while in 2010,progress was made in

negotiations on economic-trade agreements with Oman and Kuwait (Head of Cabinet of Ministers, 2010).

A posteriori, in 2011, as a result of Fernandez’s Middle East tour, several agreements were signed,

including the Agreement between Argentina and the State of Kuwait on Economic and Technical

Cooperation, the Trade Agreement between the government of Argentina and the government of the

State of Kuwait and the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministry of

Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of Argentina and the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture of

the State of Kuwait. As a result of the presidential visit to the UAE in 2013, a cooperation and

technological exchange agreement in food safety, biotechnology and food supply was signed. It should be

noted that this document provides for the exchange of technology and the possibility of selling through

the establishment of a sales office in the UAE. Moreover, according to official declarations, Argentina

would enable a small stand in the free zone of Dubai, where there would be a permanent exhibition centre

for Argentine products (Ministry of Communication, 02/06/2013). The importance of this agreement is

that the Emirate is a strategic point for the placement of products in the region, particularly considering

that it has the biggest logistics centre that reaches all Gulf countries. Finally, in 2015, three new

agreements with the UAE have been signed, this time in biotechnology, animal health and agricultural

conformity assessment. There was also a memorandum signed between the INTA and the UAE Ministry of

Environment and Water comprising issues related to biotechnology, animal and plant health, among other

topics, through mutual assistance in the areas of education, research, development and technology

transfer.

11 An interesting thing to mention is that, although Argentina has to date not received funds from the above

agencies, it has received a loan from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. This fund,

originally intended for the development of Arab countries, has long been open to other emerging

destinations, mainly in Latin America. In this framework, the Province of Santa Fe was the recipient of a

loan to improve its rail network (Cibeira, 2011).

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ISSN: 1647-7251

Vol. 6, n.º 2 (November 2015-April 2016), pp. 16-31

An approach to non-traditional partners: the evolution of the ties between Argentina and the Gulf

monarchies during the administrations of Cristina Fernandez (2007-2015)

Ornela Fabani

missions, and the signing of agreements, among other indicators. Moreover, according

to data from official documents, such as the Proceedings of the State of the Nation, the

ties initiated during this period have no precedent in the history of bilateral relations

with these actors. This approach must be understood in the light of Argentina’s interest

in strengthening its economic and trade ties with those countries, in line with the

foreign trade policy guidelines of Fernandez’s government. In fact, although the volume

of trade with these countries is still low, in recent years Qatar and the UAE have

become part of the countries Argentina imports the most from and currently there are

several projects that, if they materialize, would enable Argentina to increase its oil

purchases in these markets. Thus, we can conclude that although the depth and

characteristics of the link with each of these six actors differs, Argentina has been

making a major effort to approach this group of states, perceived to be potential

partners, in response to the need to diversify its markets, attract investment and

increase the volume of trade, combined with those states’ urgency to ensure food

security and advance technological cooperation, in a context that has been marked by

the impact of the international financial crisis.

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