The visit to Argentina by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luca Beccari, is drawing to an end. Last week he met several members of the Executive and took part in a day dedicated to the San Marino communities in Argentina, during which the San Marino citizens expressed their deep gratitude for the visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, three years after the previous one.

On Friday morning, the Minister was received by a delegation of the Ministry of Economy to discuss issues related to the bilateral economic and financial agenda, with the aim of strengthening cooperation.

In this regard, views and experiences related to the tax systems and investment frameworks of both countries were exchanged, as well as efforts to cope with the economic impact of the pandemic, the importance of maintaining financial sustainability and the promotion of development investments.

During the talks, both sides expressed the willingness to continue negotiations on a double taxation agreement by further discussing the characteristics of the respective tax systems.

Similarly, opportunities and challenges of both countries in the post-pandemic economic recovery phase were analysed, including those related to innovations in the digital economy.

Moreover, the possibility of deepening links in the field of sustainable finance applied to the goals of the 2030 Agenda was explored.

Minister Beccari then had a meeting with the Minister of Tourism and Sport, during which they emphasised the willingness to improve the existing relationship, through an increasing exchange and a concrete policy of tourist attraction to the respective countries. In particular, the Argentine Government has expressed its utmost willingness to facilitate San Marino's participation in the International Tourism Fair which will be held in October of this year in Buenos Aires.

In the afternoon, a bilateral meeting took place at the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. During the meeting significant cooperation opportunities were evaluated, especially related to the respective social security systems.

In this regard, significant steps have been taken towards the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on social security, on the basis of the draft sent by the San Marino side in recent weeks, and further technical meetings have been scheduled in March, aimed at finalising the text of the agreement.

Another significant meeting took place between Minister Beccari and the Minister of Education, Jaime Perczyk, with whom they recalled the activities carried out and those to be carried out, with a view to progressively strengthening cooperation in the field of education and training.

In this case too, Beccari recalled the opportunity to reach a future bilateral agreement, which would allow full recognition of the training courses undertaken by the respective citizens, a draft of which has already been submitted to the Argentinian counterpart.

At the end of the busy day of meetings, Beccari was received by a delegation of the Ministry of Productive Development. During the meeting the territorial and economic peculiarities of both countries were compared, with the aim of finding possible areas of cooperation.

On Saturday, the Minister opened the Annual Meeting of the Seven Communities of San Marino citizens in Argentina, gathered in Buenos Aires.

It was a day of great emotion, determined by the deep bond that unites fellow citizens from overseas with their homeland. After outlining the recent steps taken by the Republic and the future domestic and international strategies, Minister Beccari recalled the bilateral talks of the previous two days, starting from the meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs. San Marino citizens have welcomed with great enthusiasm the willingness to make equality between residents in San Marino and residents in Argentina concrete and effective in terms of access to the labour market and to pension benefits. A work schedule has been set for the first days of next month, and the pillars of the two agreements have already been defined.

San Marino, 21 February 2022