Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Argentina
Last edited Mon Sep 11, 2017, 03:21 PM - Edit history (1)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in Buenos Aires this week to meet with President Mauricio Macri on September 11 and 12.
Their meeting is expected focus on solidifying security cooperation, arms deals, and agriculture exchanges between Israel and Argentina.
Netanyahu’s visit marks the first time a sitting Israeli Prime Minister has visited South America. After visiting Argentina, home to the largest Jewish community in Latin America, he will visit Colombia and Mexico.
The Macri administration hopes to improve upon the free trade agreement that Mercosur signed with Israel in 2007. Exports to Israel, around $200 million, currently make up 0.3% of Argentina's total.
While in Buenos Aires, Netanyahu will hold two memorial services with Macri for the victims of the 1992 Israeli Embassy bombing and the 1994 attack on the AMIA community center - which together killed 114, and which remain unsolved.
In March, Netanyahu called Macri to thank him for his government’s efforts to seek justice for the families of victims of the embassy bombing. AMIA Special Investigative Unit director Mario Cimadevilla, a Macri appointee, denounced the administration last week for withholding over $1 million in requested funds however.
Haaretz reported that defense cooperation has deepened between Argentina and Israel in recent years; in 2015, Israel bought 74 Argentine TAM tanks for a total of $111 million.
At: http://www.thebubble.com/macri-netanyahu-argentina-visit/
