Obamas leaving DC for Argentina

It said that the purpose of the visit was to strengthen a relationship with a country that was part of South America’s left wing bloc until pro-business President Mauricio Macri took power in December, 2015.

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.

Reports say Obama and his family landed in Buenos Aires shortly after 1 a.m. and were met by Argentina’s foreign minister, Susana Malcorra, before being whisked away to the U.S. ambassador’s residence.

The U.S. leader will hold talks with Macri on Wednesday morning 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,”Claudio said.

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 U.S.
A U.S. official said that 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.

Report says luring foreign investors is a cornerstone of his strategy to revive the spluttering economy, as Obama arrives with a large business delegation in tow.