BUENOS AIRES – United States President Barack Obama has arrived
in Argentina on Wednesday to reset diplomatic relations and strengthen trade
ties with a country that was part of South America’s left-wing bloc until
pro-business President Mauricio Macri took power in December.

Mr Obama’s two-day visit marks a rapprochement after
years of sour relations and is a sign of support for Macri’s investor-friendly
reforms aimed at opening up Latin America’s third biggest economy.

Mr Obama and his family landed in Buenos Aires were met
by Argentina’s foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, before being whisked away to
the US ambassador’s residence.

The US leader will hold talks with Macri ahead of a
joint press conference. He will also lay a wreath at the Buenos Aires
Metropolitan Cathedral, where Pope Francis has celebrated Mass, and meet young
entrepreneurs before attending a state dinner.

French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime
Minister Matteo Renzi also recently visited Argentina, quick to reach out to a
South American leader whose predecessor forged closer ties with Venezuela, Iran
and China.

“It’s good that Obama is visiting. Closing
ourselves off in a Chavez-like system was not the way to go,” said Claudio
Mazzakalli, a 32-year-old locksmith, referring to Venezuela’s former socialist
president, Hugo Chavez.

In his first 100 days in office, Macri lifted capital
and trade controls, slashed bloated power subsidies and cut a debt deal with
“holdout” creditors in the United States. U.S. officials say Obama
has been impressed by the pace of reform.

Yet Macri still has to grapple with double-digit
inflation, a yawning fiscal deficit and a shortage of hard currency.

Luring foreign investors is a cornerstone of his
strategy to revive the spluttering economy, and Obama arrives with a large
business delegation in tow.

– Reuters