Argentina ambassador visits Nevada in effort to up trade

Nevada took a step toward bolstering international trade with Argentina when Ambassador Diego Ramiro Guelar visited to establish business relations.

Since being appointed in August 1997, he has visited 15 states in an effort to raise awareness about the new economic and political stability in South America and the potential for increased trade and investment.

Guelar served as the Ambassador of Argentina to the European Union for seven years and then as the ambassador to Brazil for one before being appointed to his most recent position.

The Nevada Development Authority, the Nevada Commission on Economic Development, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation and the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce organized a luncheon talk by Guelar last week.

He acknowledged the hyperinflation that Argentina faced in the late 1980s, but emphasized the steady growth in his nation's economy in the last five years.

This resurgence has come in part due to cooperation with former national enemy Brazil through Mercosur and other projects, the ambassador said.

Mercosur, the Southern Common Market, brings together Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and associate members Chile and Bolivia in a regional economic policy-making unit similar to the European Union.

Guelar said the Mercosur has a gross domestic product of $1.3 trillion, making it the fourth largest economy in the world. He said 95 percent of all economic activity in the Americas is contained within NAFTA and Mercosur.

His hope is that within the next decade North and South America will form a continent that is economically unified.

One of the Challenges facing Argentina and South America is what Guelar termed the "Mexican Wall." Often the United States' perception is that Mexican issues pertain to all of Latin America, he said.

"Awareness that North America and South America are part of the same America is a new feeling," the ambassador said.

Trade between Argentina and Nevada is in its early stages, Guelar said. "We are beginning a process and there is a lot to be done."

The state's export figures for 1997 concur.

Argentina was ranked No. 25 on the list of Nevada's trading partners based on the value of exports to those nations. No South American country was in the top 10.

Last Year Nevada exported more than $4.6 million in merchandise to Argentina, according to U.S. Commerce Department figures. That's a drop in the bucket compared with California's more than $600 million in exports to that country.

Figures for Nevada's imports from Argentina are not available.

Guelar felt tourism in both Nevada and Argentina could be fostered by increased communication and business association.

He spoke highly of Nevada's expertise in trade and said he would like to see an increase in Argentine exports to the United States and to Nevada in particular.

Guelar felt a stronger sense of global community would develop as business relationships are established.

"Trade is culture. You can't understand trade without understanding culture," he said.

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