Non-state actors in the Argentine Agenda towards the GCC. The role of agribusiness

LECHINI, GLADYS & RABBIA, NOEMI

Cambridge

Workshop; Gulf Research Meeting; 2013

Gulf Research Centre Cambridge

Argentina and the Arab countries have had a long-standing relationship due, to a certain extent, to the presence of Arab communities in Latin America as a result of several waves of migration in the past. However, the linkage with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries has taken place much more recently for various reasons, but mainly when reciprocal interests emerged and the conditions of both regions allowed them to interact. The 21st century has unleashed a number of changes in the balance of power of the international system: the rise of new emerging powers and the ever increasing importance of natural resources in the global strategic configuration of world forces. At the same time, the role of private actors have gained ground at a higher rate during the last years. Governmental and private initiatives have taken place at the same time, either overlapping or complementing each other. These interactions have resulted in a more interdependent world opening a variety of options and creating new and diverse associations, both in bilateral and multilateral areas. The summits between Latin American countries and the Arab World (Brasilia 2005; Doha 2009; Lima 2012) have generated a new model of interregional relationships, with a more complex way of rapprochement. At the same time, there have been efforts to improve and extend the newborn partnership between MERCOSUR and the Gulf Cooperation Council for they are negotiating an agreement to create a common Free Trade Area since 2004. Trade between Argentina and the Arab World in general, and Argentina and the Gulf in particular, has not only grown exponentially during the last years but it is just starting, with potential to flourish. In the context of globalization, this hyper-connected world offers not only a variety of challenges -the search for food supply and other vital resources, but also a new era of opportunities to promote the countries' development through the actions of public and private actors. The primacy of trade over other type of relations in the connections between Argentina and the GCC Countries -due to the absence of explicit political affinities, because of mutual st century has unleashed a number of changes in the balance of power of the  international system: the rise of new emerging powers and the ever increasing importance of natural resources in the global strategic configuration of world forces. At the same time, the role of private actors have gained ground at a higher rate during the last years. Governmental and private initiatives have taken place at the same time, either overlapping or complementing each other. These interactions have resulted in a more interdependent world opening a variety of options and creating new and diverse associations, both in bilateral and multilateral areas. The summits between Latin American countries and the Arab World (Brasilia 2005; Doha 2009; Lima 2012) have generated a new model of interregional relationships, with a more complex way of rapprochement. At the same time, there have been efforts to improve and extend the newborn partnership between MERCOSUR and the Gulf Cooperation Council for they are negotiating an agreement to create a common Free Trade Area since 2004. Trade between Argentina and the Arab World in general, and Argentina and the Gulf in particular, has not only grown exponentially during the last years but it is just starting, with potential to flourish. In the context of globalization, this hyper-connected world offers not only a variety of challenges -the search for food supply and other vital resources, but also a new era of opportunities to promote the countries' development through the actions of public and private actors. The primacy of trade over other type of relations in the connections between Argentina and the GCC Countries -due to the absence of explicit political affinities, because of mutual st century has unleashed a number of changes in the balance of power of the  international system: the rise of new emerging powers and the ever increasing importance of natural resources in the global strategic configuration of world forces. At the same time, the role of private actors have gained ground at a higher rate during the last years. st century has unleashed a number of changes in the balance of power of the  international system: the rise of new emerging powers and the ever increasing importance of natural resources in the global strategic configuration of world forces. At the same time, the role of private actors have gained ground at a higher rate during the last years.