Revista del CEI - Centro de Economía Internacional

As for transport, there are daily flights connecting Buenos Aires and Sidney, which contribute to thepromotion of tourism, business, and educational and cultural exchanges. Likewise, several merchantmarine lines connect the American Southern Cone with Australian ports, with transfers in Hong Kong orSingapore. There are initiatives in pursuit of a direct sea connection whose realisation will depend on theintensification of container traffic between South America and Oceania.At a political level, from 1998 to the present, there has been one presidential visit and various ministerialvisits, among them two of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship as well as onevisit of Argentinean Congress people to Australia. The Deputy Prime Minister of Australia has been toArgentina twice during this time; and we have also welcomed the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Industryand Science, Trade, Agriculture, Transport and Communications, Immigration and Multicultural Affairs andseveral parliamentary delegations, one from the Committee for Foreign Affairs and Defence among them.The political contacts have propelled the signing of agreements on reciprocal protection of investments,another one to avoid double taxation, a cooperation agreement on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, theexpansion of the agreement on air transport, and the signing of understandings on cooperation in theindustrial, agricultural and educational areas and also on science and technology, and sports.Figure 3Bilateral Trade between Australia and ArgentinaThousand dollars160,000140,000120,000100,00080,00060,00040,00020,00001980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004Argentina's Exports to AustraliaAustralia's Exports to ArgentinaSource: Reserve Bank of Australia and National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina.In the academic sphere, the Argentinean Ministers of Education and of Foreign Affairs were the keynotespeakers at the ceremony launching the Centre for Latin American Studies at the Australian NationalUniversity. This centre carries out permanent activities through seminars, conferences and academicexchange with Argentine universities. Since this year, it has become part of a Spanish languageprogramme, specialised in literature, arts and business management targeted on Latin America. Thedissemination of Argentine music, cinema and theatre, including the attendance to the most importantAustralian festivals over the past years, and the visits of Australian representatives from the arts toArgentina, are clear proof of increasing cultural contacts at different levels and of their multiplying effect onmutual relations. In August 2005, The Australian National University and the University of Buenos Airessigned a framework agreement on cooperation and approved the first working plan for the 2006-2007period, which includes the joint participation in undergraduate and graduate activities, the exchange ofstudents and teachers, research in several fields, and cooperation on language teaching.In the field of economics, there has been a significant leap in investments. Argentina’s greatest miningexploitation, namely Bajo de la Alumbrera, in the province of Catamarca, has been initiated by theAustralian MIM. Additional capital inflows from Australia for production and services include, aside fromexploration and prospecting of other mining beds, port container terminals, cotton fields and citrus fruit