The nation’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, through the Secretary of State for Environmental Control and Monitoring, Sergio Federowski, signed a letter of intent with representatives of the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) in Ottawa, Canada, to acquire the three aerial instruments. Fighting wildfires in Argentina. Argentina’s Environmental Portfolio intends to proceed with the procurement and payment process of the advance – before the end of the year – to receive the helicopters to be delivered by July 2024.
Federowski, who heads the trade mission, said the signing of the agreement and the letter of intent with Canada’s CCC “implies a historic event” for the National Fire Management Service, and explained in this sense that “thanks to the independent funding The organization, following contributions made by the National Congress through the rate of insurance policies, could program a series of such investments, including the purchase of three latest generation Bell helicopters with ventral tanks for fire fighting Argentina, it shows the success of cooperation between Argentina and Canada.
“We are going to guarantee the presence of Chinook helicopters in the next Argentine summer, regardless of the end of the administration on December 10,” Federowisky affirmed, and highlighted the “public policy” carried out by the administration of the national government and Ministry of Environment. , which—he indicated—”lays the foundation for continuity in the fight against fires in the summer of 2023-2024.” It should be recalled that the cooperation with Canada began at the end of 2022, with the rental of Chinooks, provided by Coulson Aviation, a leading Canadian company in aerial warfare, which operated in Patagonia and the Delta between January and April of this year. A brilliant success, which made it possible to avoid catastrophic fires in both areas.
The secretary also specified that this new agreement would allow for the purchase of clothing, water bags and other types of resources that would strengthen the SNMPF.
The parties entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022 relating to the procurement of aerial and ground firefighting assets, equipment and services from Canada on the basis of government-to-government agreements in support of critical projects within the National Fire Management Fund program.
For his part, Canadian Ambassador to Argentina Reid Sirrs indicated that the letter of intent is “particularly relevant and timely considering the impact of climate change around the world,” and stressed that “the Canadian and Argentine crisis We are not indifferent to forest fires. In this context, cooperation between our countries becomes even more important.
Along the same lines, Kim Douglas, CCC vice president of business development and marketing, said, “Canada has developed firefighting expertise and technology for challenging terrain. CCC is committed to helping the Argentine government protect its people and communities with proven Canadian solutions.” proud to do.
