Barack Obama praises Argentine reforms

President Barack Obama yesterday praised Argentina’s new centre-right leader, Mauricio Macri, for the swift pace of reforms to create a stronger economy and said Washington was ready to work more closely with Argentina after years of tension.

Obama, on a two-day visit to Argentina that marks a rapprochement in relations, said the president was setting an example to neighbours in the region.

“I’m impressed because he has moved rapidly on so many of the reforms that he promised, to create more sustainable and inclusive economic growth, to reconnect Argentina with the global economy and the world community,” Obama told a joint news conference after the two leaders held talks.

In his first 100 days in office, Macri has distanced himself from South America’s leftist bloc, old allies of former president Cristina Fernandez, and sought a thaw in relations with Western capitals as he seeks new investment in Latin America’s No. 3 economy.

Macri offers Obama a new ally in South America, a region where a strong leftist bloc turned its back on Washington over the past decade but is now shifting toward the political centre ground as governments grapple with graft scandals and an economic slowdown.

Obama’s trip to Argentina to forge a new friendship follows a historic visit to Cold War foe Cuba that aimed to boost Obama’s credibility across Latin America.

For years, much of the region took a dim view of Washington’s longstanding policy of trying to force change in Communist-ruled Cuba by isolating it, a strategy that Obama has cast aside.

Describing Argentina as one of the most powerful countries in the Western hemisphere, Obama said it was a critical partner as the United States seeks to “promote prosperity and peace and opportunity in the region as a whole.”