RIYADH — The Kingdom will host the 4th edition of the South American-Arab Countries (ASPA) summit in 2015, Argentine Ambassador Jaime Sergio Cerda here on Monday. Addressing a media seminar on the Malvinas (Falklands) dispute at the Four Seasons Hotel, Cerda pointed out that the third summit held in Lima, the capital of Peru, in October 2012 had discussed the issue and called for a just solution to his country's dispute with the United Kingdom based on UN resolutions that support bilateral talks. ASPA is a forum for policy coordination among 12 South American and 22 Arab countries including the Kingdom. It has the support of the Arab League and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). “We organized this seminar, in cooperation with the Saudi Support Group on Malvinas Islands, to create awareness among journalists on the issue of the islands to be highlighted in turn to our Saudi friends 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 said. "The Saudi Support Group over Malvinas Islands, composed of Saudi volunteers, expressed support to our demand of reuniting the islands with Argentina. It is one of 90 such support groups in 80 countries," he added. A film giving a brief history of the islands, its people and present situation under UK rule was shown at the seminar. Cerda reiterated his country's position that the Malvinas Islands are part of the Argentine territory. He said the first independent government of Argentina in 1810 considered the islands an integral part of the territory inherited from Spain. In 1965 the United Nations recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the islands and invited both countries to negotiate a peaceful solution. Cerda said his government does not recognize the UK referendum conducted in March 2013 simply because it is against the UN resolutions and also because the UK has changed the islands' demographic structure with the passage of time. "But in case bilateral talks resume and Argentina wins sovereignty over the territory, the Argentine government will give the non-Argentinian population the freedom to stay as British citizens, or get the Argentine citizenship," he said. Responding to a Saudi Gazette question, the ambassador said his government may consider a Hong Kong-style resolution. 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.
