Argentina and Canada sign firefighting agreement

The Argentinean Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MAyDS) has signed a letter of intent (LoI) with the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) to purchase firefighting assets, equipment and services.

The LoI was formally signed by Sergio Federovisky, Deputy Minister of MAyDS, at the CCC’s offices in Ottowa on 15 May, as part of an Argentinean trade mission to Canada.

Federovisky stated that under the terms of the LoI, Canada would ‘provide Argentina with three helicopters, as well as additional support for the National Fire Management System’.

MAyDS is the government agency that oversees Argentina’s National Fire Management Service (SNMF), and is responsible for the monitoring, prevention and management of wildfires and other fire-related emergencies. Meanwhile, the CCC is a state-owned enterprise that serves as Canada’s primary government-to-government (G2G) contracting agency.

The LoI reinforces Canada’s intention to support Argentina in its wildfire-fighting efforts building on a recent US$6.8 million contract signed by Argentina with the CCC for the provision of a Coulson Aviation CH-47 helitanker.

The CCC stated that ‘both the G2G contract and the LoI are the result of a 2022 memorandum of understanding (MoU).

“This letter of intent with CCC is an important milestone for Argentina’s National Fire Management Plan that demonstrates the success of the cooperation between Argentina and Canada,” said Federovisky. “With this visit to Canada, Argentina’s government … is laying the foundations for continuity in the fight against fires in the summer of 2023–2024.”