Argentina’s president has announced that he is planning to hold a “high level” meeting with UK officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly next week, in what he has described as the beginning of talks about the sovereignty of the Falklands.

Mauricio Macri was elected in November on a promise to “bring Argentina in from the cold” after more than a decade of rule by Nestor and Cristina Kirchner – who made reclaiming the Falklands a priority of their rule.

Mr Macri is determined to chart a calmer course than his fiery predecessor, and establish good business and political relations with Britain.

On Wednesday, after meetings in Buenos Aires between Mr Macri and Alan Duncan, the Foreign Office minister, Britain and Argentina announced they would lift restrictions affecting the Falklands, including on trade, fishing, shipping and the oil industry.

In what the UK hailed as "the first positive statement on South Atlantic issues since 1999', they also agreed to increase the number of flights between Argentina and the islands.

However, Mr Macri insisted he would not be giving up on Argentina's efforts to assume sovereignty over the islands.

“We're not going to leave aside our claim,” he said on Tuesday, at a business and investment forum in Buenos Aires attended by Mr Duncan.