Embarking on a journey of diplomatic dialogue and cross-cultural exchange, His Excellency Alejandro Herrero, the esteemed Ambassador of Argentina to Nigeria, stands at the forefront of fostering strengthened bilateral engagement between two vibrant nations.
With a distinguished career spanning three decades in the foreign service, Ambassador Herrero brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to nurturing diplomatic relations.
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As he navigates the complexities of his first assignment in Africa, Ambassador Herrero’s endeavors reflect a shared vision of building bridges and forging lasting connections between Argentina and Nigeria.
Your Excellency, could you please provide us with some background information about yourself and your journey to becoming the Ambassador of Argentina to Nigeria?
First of all let me thank for the invitation, It is a pleasure for me to be here shearing with you. Am a career diplomat, I entered into the Foreign Service 30 years ago, and this is my first time serving in an African country. It’s really an exciting possibility that my foreign service gave me three years ago. My first posting was in Switzerland, when I was a young diplomat, then I served in Panama, and before coming to Nigeria I was serving in Paraguay which is a country close to Argentina. At the end of my duty in Paraguay, I was offered to come to Nigeria. Let me tell you, it is a wonderful experience, a wonderful opportunity and as I told you before it is my first time in Africa and am enjoying it a lot, working hard but am enjoying it a lot.
What was your perception of Nigeria before you moved here to work as an Ambassador?
Let me be honest, I had to start studying because of course I knew Nigeria because of my studying and the nature of my degrees but lately I had little knowledge about Nigeria. I had to start studying a lot about the country, and it’s a very exciting country. It’s completely different from places have been posted before and it was a challenge for me and my wife, and we are very happy to be hear it is something that was completely unexpected for us but the Nigerian people help me a lot to settle in properly.
As the Ambassador of Argentina, what are your primary objectives in strengthening the diplomatic ties between Argentina and Nigeria?
Of course we have some issues and at the top of our list are political issues in which we always get the support of Nigeria. We talk about the Marina conflict that we have had with the United Kingdom, Nigeria is always behind us, supporting and endorsing all the resolution that are done by international organization that we both belong to, but of course, political relations are in very good conditions. I met the minister of foreign affairs a couple of weeks ago, we were revising the list and the subject and it’s important to know that we have an understanding in many fields and I can say that my first aim is to increase the trade between Argentina and Nigeria. Argentina sells some cereals to Nigeria and Nigeria sells fertilizer to Argentina, but we know we have the potential to increase our product, we can increase our trade, we can improve our numbers and we are dealing with that.
How do you perceive the current state of bilateral relations between Argentina and Nigeria, and what steps do you plan to take to enhance cooperation and collaboration between the two countries?
Two years ago, we reach the highest volume of ton in US dollars in our trade balance and this is almost two years ago and our aim is to keep on that path and to increase the bilateral trade because we know and we are convinced that it’s a way to help our people because we know that if we sell our products, we are helping our industries in Argentina and basically that’s the main scope of my mission here in Nigeria.
Your excellency, Compared to your neighbors, there are fewer Nigerian students in Argentina. Is there any specific reason for this?
We were talking about that with many Nigeria students and of course I think it’s because of the difference in language. In Argentina we speak Spanish and if a student wants to apply for an Argentina university, of course we are open and our universities are free even for foreign people, they must have a good knowledge of Spanish which could be a kind of obstacle for the people that want to go to Argentina to study or live. Of course you are right because the number of Nigerians leaving in Argentina is too low compared to the number of Nigerians leaving in Brazil for instance but I think another reason for that is maybe our economic situation is not very good to attract people, to attract migrants to our country. We are dealing with that and we are working to get better in that part way, it will take some time to be attractive for people.
Talking about immigrants, Argentina has a lot of exciting places to visit for tourism, but I don’t think a lot of Nigerians visit Argentina for tourism like they visit Jamaica, Brazil and others. Do you think the Econimic situation is stopping people from visiting?
Well certainly, it is not the reason because the Peso is undervalued if you compare it to Dollars so if you have dollars in Argentina the Peso can be very cheap. I think that the reason is that we don’t have a direct flight not just between Nigeria and Argentina but form West Africa to South America and that could be the reason why it is not attractive. If I am travelling to Argentina, I would have to go through Adis-ababa, through Instanbul, through any European country so, it takes about 30 hours to reach Argentina. I think this a huge factor but of course we are dealing with that, we are negotiating an agreement on SAS service to Argentina and now, it’s a big discus in Argentina and we are pushing for that but it is not an easy task because this is going to be like a frame work and we have to find the right private company that is ready to take the risk of initiating this flight. It is going to be a frame work and like I told you, we have to find the right company that willing to take the risk of initiating direct flights form Lagos or Abuja to Buenos and analyze if it is manageable or not, if it is profitable or not.
Security in Nigeria has been worrisome and Abuja has been in the news recently. Are you concerned about your security?
Let me tell you that am worried like every Nigerian so I feel protected here, when I travel to another place within the city, I feel protected and of course I try to always follow the instructions of Nigerian authorities. Trying to avoid places that could be dangerous but I think that am worried, not more than the Nigerian people I think it’s something to be concerned about but I keep doing my job without any discretions.
Since your resumption in Nigeria, which states have you visited so far?
Have being to Lagos, have being to Kano, to the Duruba I was invited by the Emir of Kano which a very exciting experience because it was something completely new for us, we have nothing equal in Argentina, it was amazing. There were a lot of people running and the horses were very colorful, it was amazing. I have being to Nasarawa, Lafia once, Tafa in Nasarawa state and you know of course I have limits I can’t just take my car and go to Plateau without any special provision or security in that case, the issue of security affect my ability to travel at will or getting to know more places in Nigeria.
What Nigerian food have you enjoyed the most? How many have you tried?
First of all let me tell you that whenever I go out to eat a Nigerian food, I always ask the waiter, please tell me if the food is spicy or not because you eat very spicy food here. What I eat that is a little like what we have in Argentina is the Suya, I like it. You know the suya, you can make it with fish, chicken and beef so I will say that’s my favorite Nigerian food. Am also willing to try the Jollof rice but my diet is a little bit stangwain food, trying to avoid spicy food and when I go to Lebanese restaurant or Indian restaurant, which there are a lot here in Abuja, I always ask for a special kind of food not the regular because my stomach limits me to less spicy food.
Your Excellency what will you like to point out to conclude this interview?
Let me say thanks to the Nigerian people, to the Nigerian government because you see me here as one of you and you make me feel very comfortable working in this country and since I began work in this country, the door has been very open to me, i have been invited to a lot of seminars, private events, Nigerian officer, weddings, birthdays so I feel at home really and that’s the message I want to put out their.