Argentina reopens embassy in Bangladesh, after 45-year absence
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero on Monday reopened his country’s embassy in Bangladesh – shut down during the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla in 1978.
“Today we are fulfilling a moral, ethical and historic duty by reopening this embassy. It seemed like Argentina and Bangladesh had succumbed to forgetting each other,” Cafiero told reporters after raising the Argentine flag in Dhaka.
He was joined by among others Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam – with a screen showing World Cup footage in the backdrop, celebrating the massive fan-following Argentina’s team has in the South Asian nation of 173 million.
“Our country was one of the first to recognize the independence of Bangladesh, declared in March 1971,” Cafiero recalled.
“President Juan Perón authorized the first (Argentine) diplomatic representation on October 30, 1973. The embassy was opened in the city of Dhaka in January 1974 - and was closed four years later by decision of the last civic-military dictatorship.”
It was soccer, an unexpected catalyst, “that brought out Bangladesh’s love for Argentina for the world to see,” Cafiero added.
Argentine exports to Bangladesh have been growing, and reached $743 million last year (0.8% of Argentina's total).
At: https://www.laprensalatina.com/argentina-reopens-bangladesh-embassy-after-soccer-world-cup-fever/
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero (waving) and his counterpart from Bangladesh, Shahriar Alam, raise the Argentine flag at the country's newly-reopened embassy in Dhaka.
The embassy's reopening - closed in 1978 by Argentina's fascist (and euro-centric) last dictatorship - was an acknowledgment of the passionate support for Argentina's national soccer team among many in Bangladesh, as well as the country's role as a growing buyer of Argentine soy oil and other exports.
