Marjan Groothuis, buenosairesherald.com, July 13
Image from article, with caption: A military band plays on the deck of the ARA Libertad to mark Argentina’s bicentennial in Amsterdam.
Excerpt:Argentina’s famous frigate, ARA Libertad, arrived in the port of Amsterdam on Friday morning, bringing Bicentennial cheer and a message of peace and friendship to the Netherlands as it began its European tour. ...
The ARA Libertad left Argentina on April 23 and has visited several ports already, amongst others in Brazil and in the United States. In fact, this is the frigate’s first trip to North America and Europe since early 2013. The infamous incident in Ghana in October 2012 is to blame: the ship was impounded due to a court ruling in favour of a hedge fund. Almost three months later, after an intervention by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the vessel was released. Still, the Argentine government preferred not to take any risks and for a couple of years the A.R.A. Libertad limited its voyages to the South American continent.
The new administration has dealt with pending financial issues and the improvement of foreign relations has been given priority: the voyage of the ARA Libertad is also a goodwill trip. This is public diplomacy in optima forma, as this impressive steel hulled full rigged tall ship is one of the largest and fastest in the world. ...
No comments:
Post a Comment