David Cairns, Britain’s new Ambassador in Buenos Aires, has presented credentials to Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein, formally beginning his service in Argentina.
Cairns arrived in the capital last Saturday with his wife Sharon. He arrives in the 200th year of bicentennial relations between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
During his meeting at the San Martín Palace with Werthein, the British envoy reviewed bilateral relations and analysed new opportunities for collaboration, said the UK Embassy in a statement.
Ambassador Cairns, for his part, also “expressed gratitude” over the recent visit to the UK by Argentina’s Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona to attend a symposium on economic crimes.
The duo also discussed the upcoming visit by Sir Chris Bryant, minister of state at the UK Department for Business and Trade.
Both officials emphasised the importance of the relationship, which dates back to the "Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Between Argentina and the United Kingdom," signed in 1825.
“I feel deeply honoured to be able to represent my country in Argentina, especially in the year of the bicentenary of our diplomatic relations. Over these 200 years we have fostered cooperation in areas as diverse as trade, politics, science and culture and that has already become part of our identities as Britons and Argentines,” Cairns told Werthein.
“I look forward to deepening those ties and supporting what is clearly a priority for our Prime Minister and your President: growth and prosperity,” he added.
Cairns – who served as UK ambassador to Sweden from 2015 to 2019 – brings extensive diplomatic and corporate experience to his role.
He joined the British Foreign Office in 1993, serving in Japan as a commercial secretary and later in Geneva as head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Section. He has also held several London-based positions, including FCDO director for estates and security.
From 2015 to 2019, Cairns served as the UK’s envoy in Sweden and as director of the Nordic Baltic Network.
After leaving the diplomatic service, he joined Equinor, Norway’s state-owned energy giant, as vice-president for political and public affairs. He also served four years as an independent board director at the G.A. Group design studio, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Cairns succeeds former British ambassador Kirsty Hayes as the United Kingdom's top diplomatic representative to Argentina.
– TIMES/AFP
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