President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has left Buenos Aires for Italian capital Rome, where on Sunday the head of state will meet in the Vatican City with Pope Francis before speaking before a UN convention.
The presidential airplane Tango 01 took off at 6:47pm with CFK on board from the City’s Aeroparque, according to official sources. Foreign minister Héctor Timerman and Public Communication secretary Alfredo Scoccimarro are also part of the official delegation.
Sunday’s meeting, which will be the fifth in total since Jorge Bergoglio was elected pontiff in 2013, is the first since Eduardo Valdés took over as ambassador to the Holy See.
Aside from the audience with Francis, Cristina has a number of events planned during her stay in Italy. The first official engagement could come on Saturday, with a possible encounter scheduled between the president and former Brazilian head of state Lula Da Silva, although sources refused to confirm the meeting.
On Monday, meanwhile, CFK moves on to give a speech at the 39th UN Food and Agriculture Organisation conference, where Lula and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet are also due to speak. A lunch engagement with new Italian head of state Sergio Mattarella is also scheduled for that day, with Tango 01 leaving for Buenos Aires later on Monday evening.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald