Saeed Al-Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH — Argentine Ambassador Jaime Sergio Cerda opened a seminar on Malvinas Islands at the Four Seasons Hotel here on Saturday. A document entitled “The Malvinas Islands Question” was discussed at the event. “We organized this session to educate our Saudi friends —businessmen, university professors, intellectuals, Shoura Council members and diplomats — because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a very important actor on the international stage, including the United Nations, the G20 and many regional bodies in the Middle East,” Cerda told Saudi Gazette. “The Malvinas Islands are part of the Argentine territory. The first independent Argentinian government in 1810 considered the islands integral part of the territory inherited from Spain,” the ambassador said. “In 1965 the United Nations recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom and invited both countries to negotiate a peaceful solution to the dispute. In 2012, we are still waiting to start those negotiations,” he added. Cerda said Saturday's event came as part of concerted efforts worldwide to highlight the Malvinas issue. “Our Foreign Office in Buenos Aires decided that Argentine embassies around the world organize academic events and seminars to explain our position,” he said. “This session was just the first step. Next time we hope to bring scholars from Argentina to deepen our discussions and explain the story of continuing colonialism in the 21st century,” he added. “We already have a support group of Saudi citizens who with conviction help the work of the embassy on the Malvinas question. Of course, public opinion and civil society are central to our task,” he pointed out. Malvinas Islands, called Malvinas Islas in Spanish and Falkland Islands in English, are considered by Argentina as occupied territory while Britain treats them as part of its overseas territories.
