Maria Fernanda Avila (left), chair of the Argentine Congress’s mining committee, shakes hands with Yang Won-jun, head of POSCO Holdings’ communications division, in Buenos Aires on Nov. 17 local time. Photo courtesy of POSCO Holdings
BUENOS AIRES — Maria Fernanda Avila, who chairs the mining committee in Argentina’s federal Congress, described her country’s relationship with South Korea as a “long-term alliance” and a “special strategic partnership,” and said cooperation between the two should extend beyond lithium and other critical minerals into manufacturing industries where Korea holds an edge.
Speaking at a press briefing in Buenos Aires on the 17th, Avila said: “Korea is an industrial and technological powerhouse that needs critical minerals for its battery, automotive, steel and technology supply chains, and Argentina needs the capital, technology and markets to develop the resources it holds. There is a clear complementarity.” Her assessment was that Korea’s strategic importance stands out even if its investment in Argentina falls short of that from China and others. Trade figures point in the same direction. Korea has already established itself as a major destination for Argentine mineral exports. Korean imports came to about $234 million in the first half of this year, equivalent to roughly 5% of Argentina’s total mineral exports.
Avila cited high-quality deposits and a business-friendly investment climate as the competitive strengths of Argentina’s fast-growing lithium industry. The country’s lithium exports jumped 185% from a year earlier to $1.096 billion in the first half, emerging as a key pillar supporting the national economy. “Argentina has a political system in which the federal government and provincial governments coexist,” Avila said. “Provincial governments, which hold licensing authority, pursue community, environmental and local policies that reflect their own characteristics, while the federal government provides support through programs such as the large-scale investment incentive regime, or RIGI.” On the RIGI approval that POSCO Argentina secured as the first Korean company to do so, she said it means “the company can invest and operate in a stable environment for 30 years without change, even if the government changes.” She added: “RIGI is a very important tool, but Argentina’s strategy for attracting investment does not end with RIGI. This year we completely overhauled a mining investment law more than 30 years old, with the aim of simplifying licensing procedures, easing administrative burdens and strengthening investment predictability and legal certainty.”
Avila also had high praise for POSCO, which has served as a bridge between the two countries. “The POSCO Argentina project has greatly helped build friendly relations between the two countries,” she said. “Personally, POSCO was how I first formed a connection with Korea, and I could sense that the company respects and values provincial governments and local communities, through things like cultivating local talent and creating suppliers.”
A law graduate of the National University of Tucuman and a licensed attorney, Avila has served as legal adviser to the government of Catamarca province, where POSCO Argentina secured brine lithium resources, as well as provincial mining minister and director of the national mining secretariat. She has yet to visit Korea but has expressed interest in and affection for K-beauty products such as Sulwhasoo.
Maria Fernanda Avila, chair of the Argentine Congress’s mining committee, speaks with South Korean reporters in Buenos Aires on Nov. 17 local time.
Meanwhile, as POSCO Group steadily builds its presence in Argentina, parliamentary diplomacy that had stalled somewhat because of the physical distance appears to be gaining momentum again. A National Assembly delegation led by Deputy Speaker Nam In-soon paid a courtesy call on Argentine Chamber of Deputies Speaker Martin Menem on the 20th, saying the two countries “have maintained ties in the economy, trade and democracy since establishing diplomatic relations in 1962” and that “now is the time to strengthen cooperation further.”