At the same time as Diana MondinoMinister of Foreign Affairs of the Nation, held meetings in Brussels with authorities of the NATO, Xi Jinping, president of China, walked on a red carpet in Paris, to meet with Emmanuel Macron, president of France. In a gesture of diplomatic balance, Beijing tended bridges with the main leader of the European Union on strategic and commercial issues central to the international system. A photo that happened in the midst of a foreign policy turn by Javier Milei, which leads Argentina to a geopolitical alignment with the United States, Israel and Western powers. The tour that his chancellor made in recent days was, perhaps, the mission mmore ambitious in that sense. A journey that took place in the midst of movements that energize the global board.
Yesterday, the head of Palacio San Martín completed the last stop of a trip that involved visiting two continents, five cities and four countries in just under two weeks. It was a visit to Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, where she had a bilateral relationship with the local president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
In addition, Mondino also met with Paulo Rangel, his Portuguese counterpart, and participated in the High Level Round Table with the Institute for the Promotion of Latin America (IPDAL). The chancellor promoted Argentina with the aim of generating European investments in Buenos Aires.
As Infobae learned, during the bilateral meetings in Lisbon, the Minister of Foreign Affairs defended the libertarian economic program and tried to add a guarantee to resume negotiations for the European Union – Mercosur Agreement. She also spoke about the same thing during her time in Paris and Brussels, the capital of Belgium and a soccer Mecca for other clubs. The chancellor is escorted by Federico Barttfeld, head of the Chancellery Cabinet.
Argentina took advantage of the meeting to express Milei’s interest in resuming the approval of the EU – Mercosur Agreement, delayed in recent years. Among Europeans there is no homogeneity of criteria, but “there are countries like France, which with their own weight, impose their campaign promise.”
Among the investments promoted, Argentina met with several leaders and businessmen with whom it made progress on agreements focused on minerals and energy. These are axes linked to the sectors that Milei himself expressed as guarantors of the country’s growth from now on.
Prior to passing through Lisbon, Mondino held meetings with senior EU officials. The head of Argentine diplomacy is accompanied by Marcelo Cima, Secretary of International Economic Relations of the Foreign Ministry, and by Gerardo Diaz Bartolomé, in charge of communication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Among the bilateral meetings that Mondino held, a meeting with Joseph Borrel, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stood out. Kerstin Jorna, Director General of Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission, and Jutta Urpilainenthe Commissioner for International Partnerships of the European Commission.
In relation to the possibility of resuming talks on the issue of the European Union-Mercosur Agreement, the Argentine Government is waiting for the elections to be held to renew members of the European Parliament. They will be June 6 and 9. In the Casa Rosada they evaluate that a change in the parliamentary configuration can smooth out the discussion for the bi-regional agreement.
In addition, the chancellor continued with negotiations with NATO, which is also based in Brussels, with Argentina’s objective of advancing the process of entering that organization as a “global partner.” This mission was initiated by Luis Petri, Minister of Defense, at the beginning of April.
Mondino is now carrying out diplomatic efforts to reach the consensus of the 38 members of that defensive alliance to complete the accession. In this context, the chancellor met with Boris RugeNATO Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy.
Previously, the chancellor came from Paris, to speak during the OECD session on “Promoting free and fair trade and investment to accelerate solid economic growth: a free, fair and rules-based international economic order.” She also set out an agenda of diplomatic meetings at the Château de la Muette, the luxurious headquarters of the international organization in the Bois de Boulogne park in Paris. She was accompanied by her entourage and by Ian Sielecki, Argentine ambassador to France.
Meanwhile, the beginning of the tour had been China, with the results of the weekend. The trip to the communist regime focused on the economy. The presence of Santiago Bausili made explicit Milei’s will regarding the renewal of the currency exchange program -swap- that Argentina signed with the Central Bank of the People’s Republic of China. In June 2023, Sergio Massa, then Argentine Minister of Economy, was in Beijing with the same objective and carried out the renovation. He had also flown accompanied by Miguel Pesce, Bausili’s predecessor. The loan is equivalent to 18 billion dollars and has a term of three years. However, it implies partial expirations.
In any case, no news was revealed regarding the renewal of the swap, nor the commitment to face the next maturities. Instead, the Government chose to communicate the rest of the agenda in Europe in detail. The tour was before Milei’s trip to Spain, at the end of May, to a conservative summit that will have a photo together of the Argentine president with Santiago Abascal, leader of Vox.
