Chancellor Pablo Quirno held a significant meeting with the newly appointed UAE Ambassador to Argentina, Hafsa Abdulla Mohamed Sharif Alulama, on Tuesday. Alulama presented her credentials to begin her diplomatic mission in the country. This comes as both nations are eager to deepen their bilateral agenda, with the formal commencement of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) marked as pivotal for boosting trade between the nations.
Recently, the mutual aim of this understanding was to attract investments across various sectors, including mining, strategic minerals, artificial intelligence, energy, agribusiness, aerospace industry, tourism, infrastructure, and urban development. This was confirmed alongside the establishment of the Andes-Atlantic Corridor.
The official announcement for this strategic partnership was made in September after a meeting between Quirno and UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, in New York during the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. In this meeting, both countries issued a joint statement affirming their commitment to deepen trade ties and initiated the negotiations towards CEPA.
This wasn’t the first interaction of the year. Back in July, Al Zeyoudi led an official visit to Buenos Aires during the “UAE Trade Days” initiative, where meetings were held with Quirno and representatives from the private sectors of both countries. During this visit, the Emirati official identified Argentina as one of the UAE’s most significant trade partners in Latin America, highlighting shared visions in agriculture, food security, and technology cooperation.
Trade statistics underscore this burgeoning relationship. Non-oil trade between the countries reached USD 767.5 million in 2025, marking a substantial 42.6% increase from the previous year. This robust trade relationship is also supported by existing institutional frameworks like the Bilateral Investment Treaty and the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, which serve as foundations for economic cooperation.
A prime example of this collaboration is the alliance between YPF and XRG, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). This venture is part of the Argentina LNG project, projected to involve investments of around USD 51 billion and the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. The plant plans an initial production capacity of 12 million tons annually, with exports expected by 2030 or 2031, leveraging the Vaca Muerta gas reserves.
Alulama’s arrival coincides with a period of political solidity between the two governments. Outgoing Ambassador Saeed Abdulla Al Qemzi, who ended his five-year tenure in May, highlighted Argentina’s stance on Iranian attacks against the UAE. During his tenure, the UAE’s air defenses had intercepted numerous threats, and Argentina condemned these acts in both official statements and in multilateral forums.
Al Qemzi, while reviewing his term, pointed out the signing of 36 bilateral agreements over his mandate – a third of all historical agreements between the two countries – spanning trade, energy, culture, and education with an amassed trade volume of USD 5 billion. The joint declaration in September did not specify dates for the next CEPA negotiation stages.
Team V.DIR-EM-UAE
