Amy Booth David Cairns, the United Kingdom’s new ambassador to Argentina, presented his diplomatic credentials to Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein on Monday, meaning he has formally started his role. The ceremony took place two days after he arrived in the country with his wife, Sharon.
At the Foreign Ministry’s Plaza San Martín headquarters, the pair discussed the relationship between the two countries and opportunities for possible co-operation.
“I feel very honored to be able to represent my country in Argentina the very year of the bicentenary of our diplomatic relations,” Cairns said in a statement.
“In these 200 years, we have cultivated cooperation in such diverse areas as trade, politics, science and culture, and that already forms part of our identities as Brits and Argentines. I hope to strengthen those ties and support that which is clearly a priority for our prime minister and [Argentina’s] president: growth and prosperity.”
He thanked Argentine Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona for his recent visit to the UK for a symposium on financial crime — and promised that British Trade Minister Chris Bryant would visit Argentina.
Malvinas Islands
The most contentious issue the ambassador will face in the countries’ bilateral relations is the Malvinas Islands. At a UN summit in September 2024, former British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his erstwhile Argentine counterpart, Diana Mondino, announced a series of negotiations.
They agreed that a third phase of Red Cross work to identify fallen Argentine soldiers buried on the islands would begin, monthly flights from Córdoba province to the islands would resume, a trip for relatives of the fallen would be organized, and that the countries would discuss fisheries conservation.
Malvinas veterans and Peronists rejected the plans when they were announced, arguing that it was tantamount to using the identification of fallen soldiers — humanitarian work required under international law — as a bargaining chip. Former Malvinas secretary Guillermo Carmona told the Herald at the time that Mondino and Lammy’s announcement — like the Foradori-Duncan pact before it, which the Alberto Fernández government nixed in 2023 — was “extremely concessive” towards the UK.
Families of the fallen visited the islands in December, but the other promises have been slow to materialize.
What, exactly, Cairns’s role will look like in this respect remains to be seen, as senior ministers have been reshuffled on both sides of the table. Both Mondino and Lammy have left their roles. Mondino was ousted after Argentina voted against the United States’ embargo on Cuba at the United Nations, to be replaced by Werthein. David Lammy became the U.K.’s deputy prime minister on September 5 after his predecessor, Angela Rayner, resigned. He was replaced by former Home Secretary Yvette Cooper.
Geneva, Tokyo, Sweden
Cairns first entered the British Foreign Office in 1993. After working in roles in London, Geneva and Tokyo, he served as British Ambassador to Sweden between 2015 and 2019. He then spent six years at Norwegian energy company Equinor, as vice president of political and public affairs, before returning to the diplomatic service for this posting to Argentina.
On Sunday, Cairns shared his first impressions of Buenos Aires on X.
“First 24 hours in Buenos Aires,” he wrote in Spanish. “Concert, Botanical Garden, and a magnificent residence. What luck.”
British ambassadors typically spend four years in their postings. Cairns replaces Kirsty Hayes, who served as British Ambassador to Argentina from 2021 until late June. In an interview with the Herald last September, Hayes said that British mining companies were interested in doing business in Argentina, since the country is “extremely well placed” in the critical minerals industry.
She cautioned at the time that companies were taking a “wait-and-see” approach regarding President Javier Milei’s economic program.
Most of Argentina’s currency controls were lifted in April.
Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.