The shortage of foreign currency severely affects Argentina’s presence at the World Cup in Qatar, both state and private.
A little more than a month after the inauguration of the International Football Cup which will be played in the Arab country from November 20 to December 18, a partnership between the Argentine Chamber of Commerce of Qatar and the sports marketing company Creaxion Sports, they constitute Argentina’s only physical presence in Doha, until now.
This was confirmed at Clarione Facundo Chidini, president of the Chamber, who will set up with the president of Creaxion, Jorge Kibuti, the Argentine stand on the first floor of the Intercontinental Hotel Doha The City, located in the most central area of the city, known as West Bay.
Given how little is left at the inauguration of the World Cup, where bookings began to be made years ago, the scarce state presence that could be there, some representation from the Ministry of Tourism, should already be loaded in the space of the Chamber and the company.
“Since the beginning of the year, various sectors, public and private, have tried to have a physical space that could act as a world showcase for the country while the most important sporting event in the world is taking place. It is known that the time required for negotiations with the Arabs is long, added to that High costs that are required in a luxury country such as Qatar, complex objectives of this nature are set ”, they specified in the Chamber.
Both the vice president Cristina Kirchner and subsequently the president Alberto Fernández have lowered the order not to have a single official photographed in Qatar, more when a dollar increase for overseas spending is about to be announced.
More and more, The Qatari government has sent an invitation to the President and Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero to witness the opening of the World Cup, which should be attended by various heads of state and government, or senior officials of the 32 qualified teams. Argentina is one of them, but the dates to confirm whether invitations have been accepted are already closed, and the foreign ministry made it known Neither the President nor the Minister would participate. “It does not correspond to the social situation”, shoots a consulted source.
The government does not want to repeat images like that of the summer when, after being invited not to travel abroad, the head of PAMI, Luana Volnovich, was photographed on an island in the Mexican Caribbean, in Holbox. And the Minister of Development and Habitat, Jorge Ferraresi, went for a walk in Cuba with his wife.
The government has been heavily criticized for the contradictions of adjusting access to foreign currency and for officials making free use of it.
For the World Cup, the possible costs of setting up an important space sponsored by the state were assessed.
Government sources acknowledged that negotiations were in the hands of the cabinet chief at the time. The consultations went through the Economy and the Farnesina. Costs of up to $ 3 and $ 6 million have been estimated to set up a state space, but everything has been excluded. Nor did the government want to address a figure of $ 1 million, an average of what it cost to build something more austere in Qatar.
The custom is that in these World Cup countries sponsor some spaces, show their provinces, the brand of their country, their products, mixing public and private, companies with mass culture.
As indicated by the Argentine Chamber of Commerce of Qatar, what they will now have in Doha will be a place in the bar-restaurant “LatinPoint – Argentine Bar”, where in addition to enjoying the games on the screens and connecting cultures, they will try to generate networks and place the Argentine brands to improve the current small trade balance.
Likewise, they have pointed out by the House that they are “optimistic” and hopeful “Add sponsors public and private to centralize and promote the message of union between the two sectors in front of the world and make resources, economic and human, more efficient, to take advantage of this great opportunity for a world showcase that the World Cup grants, which begins in just forty days”.
It is estimated that Argentina will close with a negative balance this year, due to imports mainly of LNG and fuel derivatives which are around 460 million US dollars and exports of cereals and foodstuffs for about 23 million. dollars.
The Qatari government continues to ask the Argentine Senate to pass an investment protection law that has already been passed by MPs to inject more money into this country. Qatar’s sovereign wealth alone has $ 400 billion available for investment.
NEITHER
Source: Clarin
