In a presidential plan, Larreta visited the mayor of Berlin and learned about educational experiences from Germany

The head of government of the City of Buenos Aires, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, ended the first day of his European tour that included visits to the German cities of Hanover and Berlin. In this mini tour that will run until Wednesday, the mayor of Buenos Aires is trying to establish bridges internationally and reinforce his intention to be one of the presidential candidates within the opposition alliance Together for Change in 2023.

On its first European scale, it announced that in March next year the city of Buenos Aires will develop “Industrial Transformation Argentina” (ITA), the South American version of the largest industrial fair in the world, called Hannover Messe, with the aim of implementing an Industry 4.0 agenda in Argentina and the Southern Cone.

“This announcement consolidates the relationship and work that we have been doing from the City with the German Embassy within the framework of the Future Forum, which promotes cooperation on industrial transformation and sustainable development. In addition to consolidating Buenos Aires as a leading city in business tourism, the fair is an excellent opportunity for the industrial sectors of our country because it will bring to Argentina companies and global leaders of the 4.0 industries,” he said about it.

He had previously visited, together with Jochen Köchler, CEO of Deutsche Messe, the Hannover Messe trade fair. An agreement was signed with Köchler to develop the “Industrial Transformation Argentina” (ITA) platform. The alliance will work together to promote digitization, business, investment, technology and knowledge transfer 4.0 between local and international companies. The fair has been held since 1947 in different countries. The last one held in Mexico in person brought together 265 exhibitors and nearly 30,000 visitors, while businesses worth more than 50 million dollars were completed.

It will be the first time that a South American city will host the fair, which was previously held in Chicago, Leon, Singapore, Shanghai and Istanbul. Among the global companies that participated were Siemens, Schneider, Abb, Balluff, Basf, Bayer, Cisco and Mitsubishi.

Later in Berlin, Rodríguez Larreta's activities had a more political tinge. He first became interested in the functioning of the dual education system in Germany, which combines theoretical training with professional practices, an idea that the Buenos Aires government wants to develop in secondary schools since this year.

That is why, together with the CEO of ABB, Gerd Woweries, Rodríguez Larreta met with young people and toured the company's Vocational Training Center, where the company trains nearly 800 apprentices aged between 16 and 23 in skills that will demand the jobs of the future.

ABB is a leading technology company in the German country, with a presence in more than 100 nations and more than 100,000 employees. It also has two industrial plants in Argentina. At its Berlin plant, trainees can choose one of the 24 professions offered at the centre, including, for example, electronic technicians for automation technology, mechatronics engineers or industrial mechanics.

150 companies participate in the vocational internship system in Germany. At the end of the internship, students can choose to stay in the company, go to another company or even pursue their studies. The rate of retention in companies after the end of the internship, to move to employment, is 85-90%.

“I am convinced that we need to work with the private and union sectors to train students and young people in the skills that the strategic sectors and jobs of the future demand. This model expresses the vision we have in the City, where we have already begun to implement the educational practices that will be carried out by all secondary students in more than 300 companies and public, private and research institutions,” said Rodríguez Larreta.

The head of government of Buenos Aires was also received by Franziska Giffey, the first woman mayor of Berlin, and who served as federal minister for the Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth in the fourth cabinet of former Prime Minister Angela Merkel.

Giffey highlighted the smooth functioning of vocational practices in Berlin and, in addition, the mayors discussed the Go Europe initiative, which promotes dual vocational students from Berlin to exchange in Buenos Aires. Giffey was also invited to participate in the C40 World Summit of Mayors, which will take place from 19 to 21 October in Buenos Aires, where issues related to climate change will be discussed.

The talk also discussed the situation of Ukrainian refugees who arrived in the German capital in recent weeks.

Finally, Rodríguez Larreta met with the Argentine ambassador to Germany, Pedro Villagra Delgado.

For his part, Secretary General and International Relations, Fernando Straface, who traveled with Rodríguez Larreta and is his main advisor on international issues, signed an agreement with German Accelerator, an organization that funds the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action and helps startups to scale globally. Since 2012, German Accelerator helped power 500 companies around the world.

Straface also met with Michael Müller, member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the German Parliament and former mayor of Berlin, who visited Buenos Aires in 2019, when the twinning of both cities marked 25 years. At the meeting, they discussed the importance of Latin America and especially the Southern Cone as a region of peace, on the impact of the war on Europe and the opportunities it opens up in terms of food production for Brazil and Argentina, and for both nations to dialogue with the European Union on the EU-Mercosur agreement.

Rodríguez Larreta's agenda will continue today in Madrid, where he will stay for two days. This Tuesday he will have a meeting with Josep Piqué Camps, president of the Ibero-American Business Foundation and with Miguel Angel Cortés Martín, its director. Then there will be a lunch with the Spanish companies that are members of the foundation. One of the objectives in Spanish lands is to promote tourism to Argentina.

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