Visit of the Secretary-General of the PCA to Argentina
From 7 to 10 October 2024, the Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) visited the Argentine Republic. His visit coincided with the Second Conference of the PCA in Buenos Aires, marking the 125th anniversary of the PCA, as well as the fifth anniversary of the PCA Buenos Aires Office, the PCA’s first office in Latin America and its largest international office outside its headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands.
Since its establishment on 16 October 2019, the PCA Buenos Aires Office has allowed the PCA to better serve the dispute resolution needs of States and private parties in Latin America from its office in the Palacio San Martín.
On 7 October 2024, the Secretary-General paid a visit to Ambassador Ernesto Gaspari, Secretary for Foreign Coordination and Planification at the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to discuss the areas of cooperation between the PCA and Argentina, as well as the essential role that the PCA Buenos Aires Office has played since its opening in 2019 in the promotion of arbitration and the peaceful resolution of disputes in Argentina and the region.
On the same day, the Secretary-General met Minister Rosa Delia Gómez Durán, Director of the International Legal Counsel Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the meeting, they addressed Argentina’s long-standing commitment to the peaceful resolution of disputes. The Secretary-General took the opportunity to thank the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its hospitality and support towards the PCA’s activities and especially for its invitation to host the PCA’s Buenos Aires Office.
On 8 October 2024, the Secretary-General met with the National Treasury Solicitor, Dr. Rodolfo Barra, as well as the Deputy Treasury Solicitors, Mr. Andrés De La Cruz and Mr. Marcos Serrano, and the Director and Deputy Director of International Affairs and Disputes, Mrs. Mariana Lozza and Mrs. María Alejandra Etchegorry, to exchange views on Argentina’s rich contribution to international arbitration and the increasing areas of collaboration between Argentina and the PCA. They also discussed the recent inclusion of the PCA as one of the available fora to resolve potential disputes arising from Argentina’s new investment incentive regimen (RIGI) approved by Law No. 27,742.
Finally, on 9 October 2024, the Secretary-General, together with Senior Legal Counsel and PCA Representative in Argentina, Mr. Julian Bordaçahar, Legal Counsel and PCA Deputy-Representative in Argentina, Mr. Juan Ignacio Massun, and the other members of the PCA Buenos Aires Office welcomed the regional arbitral community at the Palacio San Martín for a conference organized on the occasion of the 125th anniversary of the PCA and the fifth anniversary of the PCA Buenos Aires Office. The anniversary conference brought together leading experts and prominent professionals in the field of international law and arbitration to reflect on the evolution of the PCA’s role throughout the years, and featured a keynote address by Prof. Gabrielle Kaufmann-Kohler.
