Argentine, Spanish leaders discuss how to boost ties

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Argentinean President Mauricio Marci on Thursday discussed boosting bilateral ties.

During Marci's visit to Rajoy's official residence at the Palacio del Moncloa, he spoke of his wish to attract more Spanish investment to his country.

"Now the rules are much clearer. I hope that Spanish companies can deepen their participation with Argentina. Also now we have stability which guarantees future progress," Macri said.

Rajoy and Marci discussed bilateral issues, relations between the European Union and the sub-regional bloc Mercosur.

Argentina and Spain are "brother countries and we will continue working to strengthen bilateral relations to benefit all of our citizens," commented Rajoy after the meeting.

The two leaders also signed an agreement to extend the strategic association between their nations. They signed several "sectoral agreements," which Rajoy described as "the solid basis for our two nations to continue cooperating and growing together."

Macri is in Spain accompanied by around 200 business leaders. On Friday, he will receive an economic award in a ceremony to be held in the Teatro Real in Madrid.

Spain is the main European investor in Argentina, although it has been overtaken by the United States as the main investor in the country.

Spanish exports to Argentina are worth more than 850 million euros (899 million U.S. dollars) a year, while imports are worth over 1.5 billion euros annually.

Source: Xinhua