Interview with Bhavna Sharma, Deputy Mission, UK Embassy Argentina

LatAm INVESTOR: Argentina’s economic recovery has caught the attention of international investors; has the Embassy been busier helping UK firms since Javier Milei came to power?

Bhavna Sharma: Our Department for Business and Trade (DBT) team has definitely noticed an uptick in interest. We've had about approximately 20% more inquiries from companies than usual.

It goes beyond just a higher volume of enquiries. We are also seeing an expansion in the breadth of interest and types of enquiries. There are a lot more companies contacting us, who are looking at Argentina for the first time.

LAI: How can the Embassy and its team help British businesses exploring investment opportunities in Argentina?

Bhavna Sharma: We have very experienced commercial team here at the embassy, which should be the first point of contact for the anybody that wants to get in touch. The support tends to be tailormade rather than just handing out a generic pack about the country.

The bespoke support that we can provide can ranges from a general briefing on politics and economics in Argentina to a list of lawyers or agents. We can give advice on registering a product and introductions connecting people to people. We can even help with a product launch, giving advice on a specific product or the type of launch. It really depends on what the situation is and the market as well, because we have an experienced team that can be a reliable source of commercial information to UK companies.

LAI: The bilateral relationship between the UK and Argentina was sometimes challenging during the government of Alberto Fernandez, has it improved now?

Bhavna Sharma: I think you're right to say that the bilateral relationship does go up and down. My own personal view, having been here for two years, is that they're both countries with very strong personalities and cultures. Britain has a lot of cultural exports and so does Argentina. So, they're not bland nations in any sense of the word.

The UK and Argentina have a history and a connection that goes way beyond the last 40 to 50 years - it's a 200-year relationship. In fact, this year we're actually celebrating the bicentenary. The first Treaty of Friendship, Trade and Negotiation was signed on the 2nd of February 1825. That relationship really started out based on trade but now it goes way beyond that to exchanges of culture, people and science.

the bilateral relationship does go up and down... they're both countries with very strong personalities and cultures.

 In the 19th and early 20th century, the trade links were absolutely fundamental to the growth of both nations, so that's one of the things that we're hoping to highlight and celebrate this year. As nations, we've had periods of strong collaboration and we've had periods where the politics overrides other elements of the bilateral relationship.

But I mean, our work at the embassy is always to focus on the bilateral relationship, the broadest relationship we can possibly have with Argentina and focus on the positives and focus on the mutual gains for both sides. And so trade, science and technology are the areas that we like to focus on because that really is where there is a lot of mutual gains and benefits to be had.

LAI: How are UK firms responding to the market-friendly regulatory changes in Argentina?

Bhavna Sharma: Yes, the recent flexibility of both the kind of import and export regulations as well as some of the controls on the foreign exchange markets have certainly made the Argentine market more appealing to large UK players. We have 120 British companies with a permanent and fully owned operation in the market here and these companies have a good understanding of business in Argentina.

But now we are seeing a second wave of companies that are coming to the market attracted by Argentina's new large investment regime called RIGI [Incentive Regime for Large Investments]. There are a number of players in the market who are keen to establish partnerships with UK companies to develop and finance large scale projects in the market.

RIGI is starting to change the investment landscape in Argentina. The government of Javier Milei is clearly signalling that Argentina is now a place where international companies can do business.  

LAI: Where are the most exciting investment and business opportunities in the Argentine economy for UK plc?

Bhavna Sharma: So RIGI has already attracted the interest from international investors looking to develop projects here. I think the UK has great companies that are experienced in project management and can guarantee these projects will be delivered on time, on budget and with best practice. That’s where we see a lot of the opportunities for UK companies.

This UK expertise could help Argentina with the mooted privatisations, as in order to attract the world-class players, you need to have world-class tender documents that understand the needs of top-tier investors. I think financial markets will also be more prone to financing projects endorsed by some of Britain's best names.

I also think that UK companies have the expertise to help Argentine companies reduce the energy footprint of their projects and think about environmentally-sustainable best practises. This is really relevant in Argentina, as most new opportunities are related to the production and export of energy, food products and minerals. Many of these projects are in remote, pristine areas of Argentina and we're hoping that they can be preserved and protected for generations to come.

LAI: How will the Embassy boost business and investment ties between the UK and Argentina?

Bhavna Sharma: For our Prime Minister and for the cabinet, it's all about growth. Growth is the central mission and that includes overseas as well. And so, through this growth mission, the government is restoring economic stability, increasing investment and reforming the economy to drive up prosperity and living standards across the UK.

Our different teams in the embassy continue to play a key role in in delivering this wide agenda that allows us to compare notes, ideas and best practises for the challenges of a modern life and world. This can range from exchanging best practises on social, gender and climate change issues to helping develop new capabilities on open finance, public procurement and law enforcement.

And I think one of the strengths of the embassy is that we have experts in all of these different areas and collaboration and cross=fertilisation of ideas is really important to us.

The UK and Argentina enjoys a healthy trade relationship that in 2024 exceeded $2billion in aggregate trade for the first time.

We are very willing and ready to stand by Argentina in any way that it finds useful, and that benefits both nations mutually to help grow our economies and our bilateral trade and investment. So, we are constantly looking for areas of mutual collaboration.