In this news
Yesterday, President-elect Javier Milei deployed a good part of his foreign policy strategy with messages to and from the central countries, the announcement of two trips that he will make before taking office and the set-up of a program of profound reforms in Argentine diplomacy of the new government.
After intense meetings with his collaborators and with the designated chancellor Diana Mondino, The President-elect announced that traveling to Israel and the United States before taking office at the Casa Rosada. Not only this. I also received signals from the IMF, Washington, several European countries and the Ukraine at war with Russia.
Milei and Mondino have in mind to deploy what they call a “modern and liberal diplomacy.” This will imply, as explained by those close to The chronicler, starting on December 10, a foreign policy “unrelated to the attachment of ideologies” as he knew how to establish Alberto Fernndez.
Reform in the Chancellery: Milei’s plan
In practice this will mean installing a strong reform in the foreign service of the Nation for it to move the entire Secretariat of Commerce that today is under the orbit of the Ministry of Economy to the Chancellery.
The idea is prioritize the economic area of foreign relations. It is a kind of recycled model of what during the government of Carlos Menem had imposed Domingo Cavallo in the ’90s. “We must eliminate strange things in the economy. We do not want Foreign Trade to only be a control body, but rather to be an organization that promotes trade from Argentina to the world,” Mondino remarked.
It is also anticipated from this new perspective have in each ministry an official who has a direct line with the Foreign Ministry in order to “establish a policy of looking at the world with agile trade,” according to the libertarian team.
Mondino recently told The chronicler that you should go towards “clear objectives and conditions to go out and sell and buy with greater agility to the world.” This also contemplates the elimination of the SIRA system that Sergio Massa launched due to the lack of dollars.
Milei’s trips underway and calls with international leaders
On the other hand, Milei contacted yesterday references of the politics and finances of the United States to shape the trip he will make in the coming days as President-elect to New York, Miami and Washington.
It was learned that he will hold meetings with businessmen, leaders of the anti-Castro Latino community and men from Wall Street. From the United States embassy in Argentina they told The chronicler that there is “no official agenda” for Milei in Washington until now. In other words, it is a private trip for the President-elect.
Yesterday, Marc Stanley, The North American ambassador in Buenos Aires sent a message of greetings to Milei in which he proposed to “work together in the shared priorities that benefit the people of both our countries, including the protection of human rights and democracy, the fight against climate change, improving the investment climate and investing in the middle class.”
Milei also met with the Israeli ambassador in Buenos Aires, Eyal Sela, who congratulated the President-elect on the electoral result and coordinated a phone call that Milei will keep with the president Isaac Herzog to coordinate the details of the trip to Jerusalem.
The scope of Milei’s visit that will take place before taking office is unknown, but one of the government’s first measures will be to put the Palestinian group Hamas on the list of terrorist groups to be persecuted in Argentina.
In addition, those close to Milei said that the libertarian held telephone conversations yesterday with the presidents Emmanuel Macron (France), Luis Lacalle Pou (Uruguay), Sergio Mattarella (Italy), Santiago Pea (Paraguay) and Nayib Bukele (The Savior). Everyone congratulated him on the overwhelming victory against Massa and agreed to work together in the immediate future.
Milei’s future links with Mercosur and China
From the point of view of Argentina’s relations with China In the immediate future the decision of the Milei government is limit diplomatic contacts between both countries to the maximum and leave the private sector free trade with the Asian giant.
Mondino has already raised the need for make public the agreements that Kirchnerism sealed with China “under a cloak of suspicion and secrecy that must be banished with parliamentary intervention.” He thus mentioned the agreement for the installation of the China’s space station in Neuquén and the swap agreement that financed part of the Central Bank’s reserves in recent months.
Also as part of the limited relations with China Milei reiterated that Argentina ruled out Alberto Fernández’s plan to advance with the Argentina’s entry into the BRICS (Brazil, India, Russia, China and South Africa). “Today there is nothing that favors Argentina to trade with these countries. It is just an association of countries, but from a commercial point of view they do not contribute anything. “We don’t want to take on more debt by joining the BRICS Development Bank,” Mondino said.
In parallel to this, a link with Brazil also limited to the level of relations between the private sector and a “modernized” Mercosur. In practice, this will imply releasing commercial obstacles, eliminate restrictions (among which is the SIRA), have a relationship of cooperation and not competition and reformulate the current common external tariff in the bloc.
It is not ruled out that for Milei’s inauguration On December 10, the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, arrives. In fact, in recent days both maintained reserved contacts. In that case it will be a very bad sign for the current president Lula Da Silva, who is harshly faced with Bolsonaro.
The European Union and Ukraine, according to Milei
On the other hand, Milei will seek to advance as soon as possible in the implementation of the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the EU.
Yesterday, the EU commissioner, Joseph Borrell I congratulated Milei on the electoral result and announced that the Europeans want to establish with Argentina “constructive relations” where progress can be made “as soon as possible” in the EU-Mercosur agreement.
In the same line of relations with the world, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, He congratulated Milei for “his resounding victory in the presidential elections in Argentina” and highlighted his position of “clear support for Ukraine” in the face of the Russian invasion.
So that there are no doubts about the alignment that Milei will have from now on in this field facing the Argentina’s tense relations with the Kremlin, The president of Ukraine added: “I look forward to working together to strengthen our cooperation and restore the international order based on international law.”
