Argentina at 210: Independence, Partnership and a Shared Future

Two hundred and ten years ago, in a modest house in the city of San Miguel de Tucumán, in the northern region of what is today the Argentine Republic, a group of twenty-nine representatives of the then United Provinces of the Río de la Plata made a decision that would forever shape our nation's history. They declared that Argentina was born as an independent and sovereign nation.

That historic milestone carried forward the struggle for independence alongside our fellow Latin American nations, while also marking the beginning of a long process of national organisation, not without civil wars and political disagreements.

In the final decades of the nineteenth century, Argentina consolidated its territory and organised itself politically as a democratic, republican and federal State, founded upon the National Constitution of 1853. Through the opening of trade, foreign immigration and far-reaching educational reforms at the primary, secondary and university levels, Argentina experienced remarkable social and economic development and came to be regarded as one of the most developed and best-educated countries in the world.

Having arrived in Bangkok this past February with my wife, Raquel, it is a great pleasure to celebrate Argentina's Independence Day in the Kingdom of Thailand for the first time. Thailand holds a very special place in our foreign relations: seventy-one years ago, Argentina became the first Latin American country to establish formal diplomatic relations with Thailand, which now places our country is Thailand’s longest partner in Latin America.

Over these seventy-one years of bilateral relations, characterised by friendship and mutual respect, several important reciprocal visits took place. Among them are the visit to Buenos Aires by the then Crown Prince and current His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn, whom I recently had the honour of meeting when presenting my Letters of Credence, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Suthida; as well as the visits to Thailand by Argentine Presidents Arturo Frondizi in 1961 and Carlos Menem in 1997.

Today, one of the clearest expressions of the strong understanding and cooperation between Argentina and Thailand is the 2025-2027 Technical Cooperation Programme, agreed in Buenos Aires in September 2025 between Argentina's National Directorate for International Cooperation (DGCIN) and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), on the occasion of the Fifth Meeting of the Joint Planning Committee on Technical Cooperation.

The programme includes a broad range of projects, whose implementation is already under way, through which experts from leading Argentine institutions provide training to their Thai counterparts in diverse fields. These include soybean production enhancement, the generation of genetic variability in sugarcane, quality control of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines, and the investigation and identification of missing persons.

In the economic sphere, we believe there is enormous potential to expand bilateral trade, which today amounts to USD 2.1 billion. In this regard, we trust that Thailand will continue to make progress in opening its market to Argentine products and, in particular, in reopening imports of Argentine beef, one of our country's most emblematic products, globally popular for its quality. Argentine beef is exported to some of the strictest markets in terms of sanitary requirements, including the United States and Europe.

In addition, nowadays Argentina is no longer known only as a major food exporter. It is also increasingly recognised as an important producer and exporter of energy. Thanks to the current surge in investment and infrastructure development for the exploitation of Vaca Muerta - the world's fourth-largest shale oil reserve and second-largest shale gas reserve, located in Argentine Patagonia - our country reached record levels of oil production and exports in 2025 and is expected to begin exporting liquefied natural gas by mid-2027.

In 2026, Argentina began exporting crude oil to Thailand for the first time in history. From our Embassy, we are drawing the Thai Government and Thai companies’ attention to Argentina's profile as a reliable producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas, thanks to its geographic location in a peaceful region - the Southern Cone of South America - and considering the fact that the transport of hydrocarbons from our country can be carried out via safe and alternative routes.

Today, alongside our strengths in agriculture and energy, and building upon the high educational standards of our population, Argentina is also gaining international recognition for its entrepreneurial ecosystem. Our country is one of the Latin American nations with the largest number of high-growth technology companies - the so-called unicorns - which reflect the creativity, talent and innovative capacity of Argentine professionals. Argentina is also a growing exporter of audiovisual services, creative industries and knowledge-based services.

In other words, today's Argentina combines the wealth of its natural resources with the value of its human capital, offering the world food, energy, innovation and knowledge.

Beyond geographical considerations, I would also like to highlight what a growing number of international media outlets have been reflecting: the progressive and accelerating normalisation of Argentina's macroeconomy which is under way. This is the result of the efforts undertaken since December 2023 by the Government of President Javier Milei, aimed at achieving fiscal balance, opening and deregulating the economy, and laying the foundations for sustainable growth based on national and international private initiative. These reforms seek to enable our country to once again reclaim an important place within the community of nations, facilitating foreign trade and foreign investment.

With regard to investment, we also encourage Thai companies to explore the outstanding opportunities currently offered by Argentina's Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI). Approved by the Argentine Congress in 2024, this programme grants multiple tax, customs, foreign exchange and regulatory benefits, in addition to a 30-year stability guarantee, to investors proposing projects of at least USD 200 million in any of eight prioritised sectors, including energy, oil and gas, mining, forestry and tourism.

Argentina is also a country of extraordinary tourism and cultural diversity. Within a single territory, visitors encounter very different landscapes, climates and experiences: from Iguazú Falls to the glaciers of Patagonia; from the vastness of the Pampas to the Andean landscapes of the North; from Buenos Aires, a cultural and cosmopolitan capital, to Cuyo, the heart of wine tourism.

Our country offers an increasingly broad range of experiences: nature, adventure, snow and skiing in the Andes; gastronomic tourism, with beef, wines, regional products and a cuisine with an identity of its own; and an intense cultural life, in which tango occupies a central place as one of the most widely recognised expressions of Argentine identity.

Argentina invites the world to discover not only its landscapes, but also its hospitality, culture, music, gastronomy and unique way of living and celebrating.

Last but not least, Argentina is also a land of great sporting passions, and we are delighted and proud of the support that Thai people show for our national football team. However, Argentina is not only competitive in football but also in other sports such as polo. Here in Thailand, there are several polo clubs with Argentine players and horses imported from our country. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that, on 28 November, a new edition of the traditional Argentine Embassy Polo Cup will be held at the Thai Polo Club in Pattaya.

To conclude, I invite you to join us in a toast as we celebrate another anniversary of Argentina's Declaration of Independence, and also seventy-one years of diplomatic relations with Thailand. As we mark this special occasion, let us celebrate the enduring friendship between our peoples, reaffirm our shared commitment to closer cooperation, and look ahead with confidence to an even stronger and more dynamic partnership between Argentina and Thailand.