Speakers

Raúl Santiago Ailán has served as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic to the Republic of South Africa since August 2025. A career diplomat, he holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the Catholic University of Córdoba and is a graduate of Argentina’s Foreign Service Institute (ISEN).

Throughout his career, he has held a number of senior positions at the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs and abroad. He served as Director of Bilateral Technical Cooperation, working particularly on South-South and triangular cooperation initiatives; as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Argentina in Colombia, where he also served as Chargé d’Affaires a.i. from December 2019 to June 2021; and as Chief of Staff of the Undersecretariat for Mercosur and Economic Negotiations. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to South Africa, he served as Coordinator in the Minister’s Cabinet from December 2023 to July 2025.