Argentina is a major regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. It is the 8th largest country in the world, the 4th largest in the Americas, and the largest Spanish-speaking nation.
Argentina has a highly literate population, rich natural resources, a diversified industrial base, and relatively high GDP per capita. It has the 2nd largest economy in South America and the 3rd largest in Latin America.
Argentina also is a founding member of the UN, World Bank, WTO, Mercosur, Union of South American Nations, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Organization of Ibero-American States.
Argentina was the only South American country to send warships and cargo planes in 1991 to the Gulf War under UN mandate and has remained involved in peacekeeping efforts in multiple locations like Croatia/Bosnia. Cyprus, and Haiti. Argentina is the only Latin American country to maintain troops in Kosovo during SFOR and later EUFOR operatons.
The United States and Argentina maintain a bilateral relationship based on shared interests, including economic ties, democracy and human rights, counter-terrorism and rule of law, improving citizen security, energy, science and technology, people-to-people ties, and education.
President Trump met with President Mauricio Macri on the margins of the G20 summit in November 2018, the third presidential meeting in the prior three years, an indication of the United States Government’s commitment to high-level engagement with the Argentine government.
Mr. Jorge Lopez Menardi is a career diplomat and was appointed Consul General of Argentina in Atlanta on March 21, 2016.
He came to Atlanta from Buenos Aires, where he last served as Chief of Staff of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Having graduated with a degree in Law from “Universidad de Buenos Aires”, he entered the Diplomatic Academy in 1991. His first post abroad was as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Argentine Embassy in Jamaica in 1995. From Kingston he was transferred to Washington DC and served as Alternate Permanent Representative to the Argentine Mission to the OAS, in 1998.
From 2000 till 2006 he worked as a staffer for the Undersecretary of Foreign Policy and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs in Buenos Aires, and then he was designated as head of the Consular Section of the Argentine Embassy in Washington DC, a position he held from 2006 till 2012.
He is married to Rosana Bruno and has three children.
