On July 9, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Argentina to the Republic of Bulgaria, H. E. Mr. Alejandro Zothner Meyer, and his wife

hosted a reception at their residence on the occasion of the country’s national holiday. Independence Day (1816) was honored by numerous guests, including representatives of the Presidency, the Government, the National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria, as well as figures from the fields of culture, media, and business, Argentine citizens living in Bulgaria, and friends.

A quartet of musicians from th e New Symphony Orchestra first performed the national anthems of Bulgaria and Argentina.

This was followed by a welcome speech by H. E. Mr. Alejandro Zothner Meyer, in which he stated: "Today we commemorate the 209th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. We are a young country that was a place mainly of refuge for millions of Europeans, among whom were thousands of Bulgarians, during times of upheaval, conflict, and devastating wars." He continued:

Argentina, a dynamic democracy, is the eighth largest country in terms of territory and the second largest economy in South America. We are an agro-industrial power. But we have also developed nuclear and satellite technology. Throughout the Andes mountain range, we have important mining projects for copper, gold, lithium, and uranium. Vaca Muerta, Argentina, has the world's second-largest shale gas reserves and the fourth-largest shale oil reserves. We have already become an energy exporter and will be able to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the near future.

The policies implemented by President Javier Milei have positioned Argentina as a reference point for political and economic change in the eyes of the international community.

The goal is to restore freedom to citizens and businesses, reducing the fiscal deficit and excessive state interventionism that led to years of inflation and high poverty rates.

In foreign policy, the objective is to reintegrate Argentina into the free world.

A few days ago, Argentina's temporary presidency of Mercosur ended, achieving very valuable results, granting greater margins of freedom to each of its members by expanding the number of exceptions to the common external tariff, thus allowing each country to trade more freely with all countries in the world. The modernization and flexibilization of Mercosur is irreversible. On the other hand, negotiations have just been concluded for a free trade agreement between Mercosur and EFTA (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland), which will create a free trade area for nearly 300 million people with a combined GDP of more than US$4.3 trillion. Both sides will benefit from improved market access for more than 97% of their exports.

The Mercosur countries await the upcoming adoption of the agreement with the European Union, which will bring benefits to both regions by creating one of the largest free trade areas for more than 770 million people, representing a quarter of global GDP.

Argentina, currently one of the U.S.'s main strategic partners in Latin America, is holding intensive trade talks with the U.S. to reach an agreement on reciprocal trade and investment.

In this turbulent world, at the beginning of his term, President Milei requested to become a global partner of NATO. In this process, Argentina recently acquired 24 F16 aircrafts. It is important to note that Argentina supports Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.

The issue of the Malvinas Islands is a cross-cutting issue that unites all of Argentine society and is independent of governments. Argentina defends its sovereign rights through bilateral dialogue and peaceful means in all international forums, with recent unanimous support in both the United Nations Decolonization Committee, the OAS (Organization of American States) and Mercosur.

Later in his speech, the ambassador stated that the ties with Bulgaria are friendly and long-standing, and that it is an honor that Bulgaria’s first embassy in South America was opened precisely in Argentina.

I would like to highlight the important bilateral Antarctic cooperation that has intensified since Bulgaria acquired a polar vessel. This has opened up a field of cooperation in the field of defense, where there is still room for greater mutual interaction.

In economic and commercial matters, we are actively promoting the vast potential of no-till farming technology, together with state-of-the-art Argentine agricultural machinery. Over the past 35 years, these pieces of equipment - along with their constant modernization - have played a key role in driving Argentina’s agro-industrial development. After many meetings with key players in the Bulgarian agricultural sector, as well as with agricultural producers, we are convinced of the potential of the no-till system - with the necessary adjustments to Bulgaria’s diverse soils - for regenerating soil nutrients, in line with EU trends, and for addressing challenges such as the shortage of agricultural labor, among others. Therefore, we place strong emphasis on cooperation in agricultural technology.

We support Bulgarian importers of Argentine food (meat, wine, snacks and cookies, as well as some very typical Argentine products such as dulce de leche, alfajores, and yerba mate).

We value and support the two Bulgarian companies investing in Argentina, in the production of anti-hail rockets and an industrial catering plant.

In addition, we have an Argentine businessman who acquired a first division soccer team, Beroe Stara Zagora.

Recently, we organized with the Union of Bulgarian Artists an exhibition of a renowned Bulgarian-Argentine Jewish painter, Eliezer Alcheh, who, along with his wife, also a painter, emigrated to Argentina in 1951. With the help of Shalom, we hosted the inauguration of the exhibition with the presence of the president of DAIA, the main Argentine Jewish community (that is the fifth largest in the world).

Our two countries share the fact that, with Christian majorities, they are an example of respect and religious coexistence. The history of Bulgaria and the salvation of all Bulgarian Jews during World War II was a unique event that makes Bulgaria proud.

However, both Bulgaria and Argentina have suffered serious antisemitic terrorist attacks. Both countries are members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), and Argentina will chair it in 2026.

The ambassador recalled the two antisemitic terrorist attacks in 1992 and 1994 — against the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires and against the Jewish community center AMIA — as well as the ongoing fight against antisemitism. He stated:

In the October 7 attack, 27 Argentine citizens were killed. Twenty-one Argentine citizens were kidnapped by Hamas. Four Argentine-Israeli citizens currently remain kidnapped.

For all these reasons, and to keep alive the memory and the demand for the liberation of the Argentinians who have not yet been released, something that our President recently did during his visit to Israel, we havewe have placed this plaque here at the Argentine Embassy, ​​donated by DAIA, the main association of the Argentine Jewish community, as a memorial for the victims of October 7, 2023, and to demand the return of all those kidnapped.

On behalf of Bulgaria, congratulations on Argentina’s national holiday were delivered by Mr. Nikolay Pavlov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Afterwards, all guests enjoyed the wonderful Argentine specialties, meats, wines, and desserts.

The photos were provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Argentina in the Republic of Bulgaria. Above: H. E. Mr. Alejandro Zothner Meyer and his wife, Ms. Maria Marta Pigani de Zothner Meyer