Revista del CEI - Centro de Economía Internacional

plantations, food industries, cold storage plants, exhibition halls for cinematography, insurance companiesand air transport businesses.On Argentina’s side, INVAP S.E., one of the leading nuclear and space technology companies, Bunge,one of its largest food companies of worldwide importance, and Aerolíneas Argentinas, the flag carrier,have branches in Australia. Since the signing of the supply contract in July 2000, the first of these threecompanies has been in charge of the construction of a nuclear research reactor at Lucas Heights, in theoutskirts of Sidney. This reactor, named OPAL, is the world most modern of its kind and will beinaugurated in the first half of 2007. It is currently in the critical phase, this is, the final test period after fuelloading. It is worth mentioning that the corresponding international tender was won in competition witheight bids from Europe and North America. The project, valued at US$ 220 million, is the most important inthe high technology area undertaken abroad so far by Argentina and entails a qualitative leap in bilateralrelations. It is also generating an important flow of goods and services exports, fuels among them, as wellas a noteworthy exchange of scientific personnel.The progress made in mutual relations would not have been possible without the strengthening ofdemocracy in Argentina over the past 23 years, favouring the country’s integration into the internationalcommunity and the coincidences with Australia in terms of principles and values. The trail blazed byauthorities, economic agents, representatives of culture and citizens who pursue mutual knowledge haslaid the foundations for this relationship, infusing reliability and offering a predictable scenario to guidefuture efforts. It has also contributed to the design of new forms of cooperation and investment, such asthose implemented in relation to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, mining and energy exploration andexploitation, and cooperation in the academic world.5. ConclusionThe previous chapters endeavoured to give an idea of the richness of features offered by a comparativeanalysis of Australia and Argentina, in view of the fact that, in the nineteenth century, these countriesbecame part of an international economic model of excess supply of factors of production in the industrialcentres, which resulted in a noteworthy development of their respective societies.The above-mentioned integration to the international economy took place for both countries in absence ofreciprocal links, which now appears as a novelty of the past decades. Therefore, it will be wise for furtherresearch to include not only an interpretation of the past evolution, but also of the recent one and,particularly, of the connections already referred to, which, as has been seen, entail a significant exchangein terms of trade and investments as well as in the scientific field.In the light of the events and experiences that followed the works of John Fogarty and Tim Duncan andthose of their Argentinean colleagues towards the end of the 1970s, new political, economic and socialrealities and questions have arisen. This situation has inspired the previous pages and it will definitelyjustify new academic exchanges aimed at finding new responses regarding the convergence ordivergence between Argentine and Australian evolution.