And president Javier Milei is finally going to make his debut. It happens that this Saturday the president will get on for the first time to the ARG 01 presidential plane that will transport him to the city of Los Angeles, in the U.S. This is the aircraft acquired during the government of Alberto Fernández and that Milei himself had said at the time that he would not use for reasons of austerity. But the demagogic measure of moving on commercial flights is over. It is very cumbersome to transport a presidential delegation and not be able to modify an agenda. That is why you will now be able to participate in a forum held by international economic power without having to look at the boarding schedule.
Thus, the President will leave for the Californian city, invited to participate in the Milken Institute Forum, promoted by bankers, CEOs, businessmen and investment funds that make up international financial power. The official argument to explain the decision that the head of state decided to stop traveling on scheduled flights was the need to reinforce presidential security, according to the recommendation made to Milei by the Minister of Security herself, Patricia Bullrich. “It is not only for the safety of the President, but also for what it implies for the people who would potentially travel with him on a scheduled flight,” they said from Casa Rosada.
“The Ministry of Security warned us about certain risks that exist if the President continues flying on scheduled flightsso he can no longer travel on commercial flights,” spokesman Manuel Adorni had said in the press conference held after the escalation of the war conflict in the Middle East led by Israel and Iran.
The ARG-01 presidential plane is a Boeing 757-256 acquired in 2022, during the administration of Alberto Fernández, for a sum of 25 million dollars. It has the capacity to transport 39 passengers, and entered service in 2023. The Frente de Todos government had been the subject of criticism for the amount allocated to the acquisition of the aircraft, among which was that of the current president Milei.
At the beginning of March, Milei had announced that it would transfer the entire presidential fleet, including the ARG-01, to the Argentine Air Force. The outlined objective had been for the defense organization to have not only the maintenance of the fleet, but also operational management; However, if necessary, Milei could continue using these vehicles for transportation.
The next trip that is on the presidential agenda will be in June, to meet with the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, in advance of the G-7, which this year will have Italy as the host country. The meeting will take place in the town of Apulia, and is scheduled to take place between June 13 and 15. However, according to media reports, Milei will travel earlier to participate in a conference related to Artificial Intelligence. The invitation to that conference would have come through Meloni after the Argentine president’s meeting with Elon Musk, in Austin, Texas.
The President also plans to travel to Spain to receive an award, and then visit France, for a possible meeting with Emmanuel Macron. Another destination on the agenda is Germany, for another award and to have a meeting with the chancellor, Olaf Scholz. Finally, he would go to Ukraine to meet with the president of that country, Volodimir Zelensky, who traveled last December to Milei’s inauguration.
