At the Palacio San Martín, Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, together with the Argentine Minister of Production, Francisco Cabrera, and the Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, María Contreras-Sweet, signed today the “Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Argentine Republic on Promoting Entrepreneurship and the Growth of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises".
After the signature of the Memorandum by the Argentine Foreign Minister and the Administrator of the US Small Business Administration, Malcorra stated: "This Agreement marks another milestone in the commitments that were made since President Obama's visit and the very productive meetings that were held between both Presidents and their cabinets".
"Citizens often doubt that this kind of agreements will bring about actual results, but I assure you that this is the preliminary requirement that constitutes the basis to reach the world of entrepreneurs and of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises", said Argentine Foreign Minister on the occasion of the signature of the agreement, which took place at the Salón Dorado (Gold Room) of Palacio San Martín. The event was attended by authorities from both countries. "From now on, we have a framework to work jointly, which builds on the experience gained by the Administration headed by Ms. Contreras-Sweet in the US both internally and externally, through the signature of similar agreements with other Latin American countries", she added.
"Argentina's integration is an opportunity that obliges us to position ourselves with 21st century ambitions and to understand that, as long as we believe in ourselves, we have more chances of being successful both within and outside the country, and to project ourselves to the world. So we must go for it and take decisions", ended Malcorra.
For his part, Minister Cabrera expressed "particular interest in the experience of the Administration headed by Contreras-Sweet in relation to the development of support centres for small enterprises in other Latin American countries. In this regard, we are very interested in establishing at least 24 support centres (one in each province) for Argentine small enterprises, based on that format, that model and that experience. This is one of our focuses. The other, to which I attach special importance, is the WEAmericas programme, which is a network related to women entrepreneurs and businesswomen".
Administrator Contreras-Sweet stated that the Small Business Administration she heads "plays an essential role in economic growth" and that they are aware of "the major role that the community of small enterprises can play in the economic development of a country". She added: "When we came up with this programme, we had a two-digit unemployment rate. We have managed to lower it to one digit, to 5% or less".
"Through this network we have created, we wish to bring the assistance centres we have in the US so they can help here. We provide assistance to all citizens. The Argentine people have a lot of talent and energy. I believe this is a very important opportunity for the future", concluded the American official.
Press release No. 116/16
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