Argentina is making concerted efforts to boost its economic ties with the oil-rich countries of the Middle-East, with a visit by President, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and a top-level delegation from the country to the region. The delegation seeks to obtain investment commitments for 24 projects in Argentina and presented the Kuwait Investment Authority with proposals worth $3.3 billion.

Argentina has a large Arab community, mostly of Syrian-Lebanese descent, with an estimated three million immigrants from the region out of a 40-million population. Buenos Aires last month joined several South American capitals in recognising Palestine as an independent state, drawing a rebuke from Israel.

What President Kirchner is really looking for to ink a partnership agreement with Qatar in establishing a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification terminal in Argentina.

“We can reach an agreement with Qatar for an annual transfer of 5 million tonnes of gas per year. This would work out to 20 million cubic metres per day,” President Kirchner said. This could take care of the 20 percent of Argentine daily gas consumption.

I believe the initiatives with Qatari and Kuwaiti funds improve Argentina's credibility in the international capital markets and enhance the attractiveness of investing in the country. Argentina is still favored to be a hot stock market for 2011.

Over the last week, the top performers in our newsletter service were:

• Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica S.A. (NYSE:ERJ) +10.2%
• Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE:BBVA) +7.8%
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